It looks like a mistake on the surface. Brooks saying that Obama looks like someone who would go into Applebee's looking for the salad bar. It isn't a mistake though.
I think it's really tooo obvious to say that Brooks comes across as gay to most American males. There are other things that produce that kind of softness, and I don't know if Brooks is gay personally, but however it is shown, it is associated with homosexuality when it is seen. What Brooks, as a Republican gayesque voice, is saying, is that Obama is the kind of receptive urban gay male who would go into an Applebee's and get upset because there isn't a salad bar. And he didn't go there for the food.
So really, it wasn't a mistake, and it is intended to deliver a message that will be heard by exactly the voters in the primary season who had problems with Obama. This is why it is a good idea for Obama to put a woman on the ticket, because otherwise, well, he'll draw Dick Cheney top/Bush bottom comparisons that he really wants to avoid.
Here's the original quote from Brooks:
ReplyDelete"Obama‘s problem is he doesn‘t seem like a guy who can go into an Applebee‘s salad bar and people think he fits in naturally there."
So it's Brooks who doesn't know that Applebee's doesn't have a salad bar. I wouldn't at all be surprised if Obama's never set foot in an Applebee's, but I'd say Brooks is the "elitist" here.