The editorial Small-town grit is another attempt to shield Barak Obama from an embarrassing and ill-advised comment or association. Undoubtedly the Sun is feeling a bit guilty about it's unwillingness to properly scrutinize this candidate before offering a knee-jerk endorsement. But it's not the issues facing small towns that is at the heart of this matter. It's Obama's elitist attitude, and apparent disconnect from ordinary people. The fear is not that Obama misspoke, or committed a faux pas. The fear is that Obama said exactly what he thinks, in front of an audience that would largely agree with him. It's hardly news that many who run in urban elite circles look down upon their rural counterparts as obsessively religious, bigoted and less-than-educated dolts. It's also obvious that the senator is more comfortable in San Francisco than in small town America. None of this will play well in the general election. Obama is a mystery that's being revealed one layer at a time. And with every layer that's peeled back, it's becoming more apparent that he is not the person to lead all Americans, and certainly not the person to heal any demographic divide amongst the citizenry. As a Republican, I do hope the senator from Illinois can hang in there for just a few more weeks, because I believe that things are going to go from bad to worse for Mr. Obama, and that we Republicans now have a chance of winning in a year that should almost certainly be a Democratic sweep. I can think of no better example in recent history as to why candidates should be fully vetted early on in the process. And I suspect that, diversionary editorials aside, next time you will do so.