Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama said he thinks things are better when you “spread the wealth around” by raising taxes on the rich. But the unsettled point of debate is just where the line is between rich and poor.
The like-minded folks at The Nation, a liberal periodical, cited a New York Times-CBS News poll [1] that defined those making more than $50,000 a year as rich. And “rich white people” are an obstacle to the liberal agenda, according to The Nation.
“The poll also shows that rich white people are even more likely to support [Republican presidential nominee Sen. John] McCain – no surprise,” Jon Wiener wrote for the magazine’s blog Oct. 27 [2]. “Here the poll defined ‘rich’ as earning $50,000 or more. Most will take issue with that definition, but those rich white people supported McCain 49-42.”
Wiener specifically targeted “rich” men 45 and older of Protestant religions as the “number one problem in American politics today.”
“Extrapolating from these figures, we can conclude that rich old white Protestant men are the base of McCain's support -- and thus the number one problem in American politics today,” Wiener wrote.
Wiener found “signs of progress” in the poll. Fewer say they will vote for McCain than voted for President George W. Bush in 2004 – Wiener’s analysis concluded the ones who switched are no longer part of the “problem” and are now “part of the solution.”
“The poll did contain some signs of progress, even for old white men: fewer of them support McCain than supported George W. Bush four years ago. 62 per cent of old white men voted for Bush in 2004, according to the poll, while only 48 percent plan to vote for McCain this year - a switch of 14 per cent of old white men from the ‘problem’ category to the ‘part of the solution’ group,” Wiener wrote.