“I know his grandmother lives in Hawaii and I know Hawaii is a state, but it has the look of him going off to some sort of foreign, exotic place. He should be at Myrtle Beach and if he’s going to take a vacation at this time. I just think this is not the time to do that.”- Cokie Roberts

Funny, because certain white suburban teenagers that I know, took one look at the following picture of Barack Obama bodysurfing in Hawaii and admiringly proclaimed him a ‘Badass’.

A ‘Badass’ is distinct from a ‘Jackass’, which is all I can say for the people the people that put together The Note:

Did Republicans get the pictures they were waiting for when Obama finally took his shirt off to go bodysurfing in Hawaii Thursday?

Let’s face it. If John McCain attempted to bodysurf Hawaii’s waves he’d sink like a stone and drown. I think golfing-blogger William Wolfrum put it best:

Yes, Obama can’t help but look like a high-flying elitist by spending his vacation in Hawaii, regardless of the fact that he was born there and that his grandmother lives there. And the fact that, you know, Hawaii is one of the 50 states.

When real Americans take vacations, they go to Myrtle Beach. That’s why we’d like to let the Obama Campaign know about MyrtleBeachGolf.com. There they can find amazing deals throughout the Grand Strand that combine luxurious (but not elite) lodging, as well as opportunities to play golf on some of the most impressive golf courses in the non-elite Continental U.S.

And while they are making arrangements to send Sen. Obama to Myrtle Beach, they need to get him to switch sports. Basketball is for elites, after all. Real Americans, and real American Presidents play golf. In Myrtle Beach.

Joel Connelly of the Seatlle Post-Intelligencer also had a few choice words for Cokie Roberts and her ilk:

ABC/NPR pundit Cokie Roberts went on TV to raise her nose at Obama’s decision to hang loose in “Some sort of foreign exotic place,” and then talked about his “odd” choice during her Monday gig on National Public Radio.

Roberts is a D.C. creature. Her father was House Majority Leader. Her mother served in Congress. A brother, Tommy Boggs, is one of the capital’s most prominent lobbyist-fixers. And her husband, Stephen Roberts, was the New York Times’ man at the White House during the Reagan administration.

A few facts need to be brought out:

Hawaii is one of the 50 states, albeit the most recent to be admitted to the Union.

A sneak attack on the U.S. Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor prompted America’s entry into World War II.

Lots of Americans vacation in Hawaii. President Reagan and wife Nancy were photographed swimming in the waves during the Gipper’s administration.

Longtime (1952-83) Washington Sen. Henry Jackson went to Hawaii on his honeymoon, but took time off to visit fleet headquarters for a briefing on Soviet naval strength in the Pacific.

Barack Obama grew up, much of the time, in Hawaii and was raised largely by his grandfather and grandmother. The candidate’s grandmother is still alive. Americans like to visit their grandmothers during the summer.

A suggestion about this episode:

Cokie Roberts used to be an original voice Monday mornings on NPR. She is now an orthodox theologian of the capital’s conventional wisdom.

As an insurgent, Barack Obama hasn’t been treated all that kindly on NPR, particularly by correspondents who opine on other networks or serve as designated “liberal” wimps on Fox News roundtables.

During the fall, our local public radio stations will hold beg-a-thons emphasizing how this is “our” radio.

When contacted, whether you give or withhold, let ’em know what you think of “some sort of foreign exotic place.”

And don’t miss Edwin Tanji in the Maui News:

It’s almost amusing that an East Coast media ego fails to sense a disconnect when a presidential candidate goes off on vacation to a Cape Cod gated estate as if for most Americans that isn’t a foreign and exotic place – a place they can only sightsee, never expect to live.

What reporters like Roberts appear to be missing, and probably what the McCain campaign most fears, is the enthusiasm activating a segment of the citizen population inspired by a candidate, who like they, was born about the time Roberts was graduating from Wellesley. Many were not inclined to be involved in their country’s leadership choices before, but are now.

The campaign organization around Obama is appealing to American youth, evolving out of the pool of under-30s who are disturbed at the decisions made by the over-50s and see a face with which they can identify and possibly even trust.

Their level of participation can’t be easily gauged, which may be the reason reporters experienced in political dogma rely on well-worn ideology to assess what succeeds in the timing and planning of an election campaign – while the audience relies on blogging and word-of-mouth texting.

It may all mirror what is happening to media in the United States, as newspapers and even television news broadcasters slide below the consciousness of the diverse and diversifying society. It could be that the reporters – and the editors – are out of touch.

And need I remind you that John McCain spent yesterday in Aspen? But he’d need to break out a snowboard if he wanted any suburban white teenagers to call him a ‘Badass’.