DEMONIZING THE OPPOSITION

Just in case you thought Rep. Michele Bachmann's outburst on HARDBALL was a rare event and not indicative of the thinking of the GOP, McCain senior adviser Nancy Pfotenhauer said this on MSNBC:

Pfotenhauer Insults Virginians: ‘Real Virginia’ Is Only Where McCain Is Winning»
On MSNBC this morning, McCain adviser Nancy Pfotenhauer asserted that “real Virginia” does not include Northern Virginia:

I certainly agree that Northern Virginia has gone more Democratic. … But the rest of the state — real Virginia if you will — I think will be very responsive to Senator McCain’s message.

MSNBC host Kevin Corke gave Pfotenhauer a chance to revise her answer, telling her: “Nancy, I’m going to give you a chance to climb back off that ledge — Did you say ‘real Virginia’?”
But Pfotenhauer didn’t budge, and instead dug a deeper hole.

Real Virginia, I take to be, this part of the state that’s more Southern in nature, if you will.

Caribou Barbie is no better:

Palin Sees America As Wealthy And White: New Hampshire And Alaska Are ‘Microcosms’ Of The Country»

Speaking at a rally today in Dover, NH, Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK) praised the area’s beauty and natural resources. She also claimed New Hampshire is “kind of this microcosm here in the state of the rest of the entire U.S.” In the past, she has said her home state of Alaska “is like a microcosm of America.”

Do these two states seem at all representative of America?

	United States	New Hampshire	Alaska
Median Income (’04)	$44,334	$53,377	$52,141
Poverty Rate (’04)	12.7%	6.6%	10%
Non-Hispanic Whites (’06)	66.4%	93.8%	66.4%
Blacks (’06)	12.8%	1.1%	3.7%
Hispanic/Latino Origin (’06)	14.8%	2.3%	5.6%