Obama and Bipartisanship: What I’m talking about

THIS is the kind of stuff that interests me about politics.

And science and environmental communication.

I, writing from a New York hostel lobby, ready to embark on the “thinking” part of my journey to choosing a graduate school – the reporting is done, now is time to process, on deadline, no less – I will elaborate on this most fascinating societal phenomenon and issue, later.

Meanwhile, do read

Obama, Now on the Defensive, Calls ‘Bitter’ Words Ill-Chosen

and, for a glimpse into how I am seeing it, and why it fascinated me so much, here’s a post of mine on The Bipartisan Divide.

My one comment for now: Is Obama a bipartisan candidate? Can he truly be bipartisan if he is elitist – and if his original wording of his remarks reflects how he truly thinks of small town Americans?

And a question for myself – can I truly be for the bipartisan cause, if I am elitist, if I attend an intellectual (and theoretically rich (?)) journalism graduate school? As a friend of mine just argued with me just an hour earlier over dessert – can I get a really intellectual education…and still be in touch with the “common people” (for lack of a better phrase) (although even the use of that phrase “common people” comes from a perspective of elitism, implying that I am not among them. But I want to be in touch with all people. At least, theoretically, that is my goal.)

I’d like to think so.

But can I spend graduate school essentially removed from those not economically well-off enough to pay a TON of money – as I spent my undergraduate career – and truly pursue my goal of getting in touch with the people, of all sorts, of America? (Will good reporting be enough for that?)

Hmm. Something to think about. As I progress towards making a choice.

For those of you who have access, you might also be interested in checking out a comment I made about bipartisanship in the election, and the mini dialogue with another Stanford student/alum (who I don’t know personally) that ensued under this facebook debate.