First, J.P., it’s interesting to recall that Diane Sawyer once served as a press aide to Richard Nixon.
Second, Sawyer demonstrates a widespread elite belief that Ordinary Americans are incompetent to judge their own interests.
Elite faith in big government is both a cause and effect of that attitude. On the one hand, if you assume that Joe the Plumber is socially, politically and economically incompetent, then you have a ready-made argument for the necessity of the Nanny State’s guidance and protection. Once you decide that Joe needs the Nanny State, his refusal to recognize this need is proof — “A-ha!” — that he doesn’t know what’s good for him.
This attitude was best explained by Thomas Sowell in The Vision of the Anointed: Self-Congratulation as a Basis for Social Policy, a book I most enthusiastically recommend.
Notice to Readers: The American Spectator and Spectator World are marks used by independent publishing companies that are not affiliated in any way. If you are looking for The Spectator World please click on the following link: https://spectatorworld.com/.