Drezner's A Better Blogger

No doubt.   Just check out his post on airport security and the reactions to it and mine.  He does a very nice job of integrating his experience and reactions into a larger question about Elite Americans and others. 

I would say that he could be making a significant mistake--by making it seem as if elites are different in anything else than exposure/frequency.  That is, Elites fly more and are more bothered by the various intrusions than ordinary Americans who do not fly.  His conclusion, "With travel season upon us during the next six weeks, we'll see.....," hints at the key reality--that folks who have not experienced the longer lines, the relentless instructions to surrender possessions and dignity (I hate having to lose control of my wallet and passport--that makes me very insecure), and so forth may soon do so and may join the backlash.

It may be that the resisters will be called out of touch, but isn't that a label applied to people who are not experiencing the realities of the situation.  Bush senior was out of touch for not knowing that prices were scanned at grocery stores.  But frequently flyers will understand far better than those who do not fly at all the tradeoffs of more illusory/real security vs. inconvenience.

I also think this whole Elites vs. Real Americans distinction is not going to center around airport security since that is something that is not relevant to most Americans, as opposed to jobs, education, pay, health care, and so forth. 

Of course, I write this from a very posh hotel in Quebec City before I present my research to a highly educated audience, so whom am I to say what is or is not Elite?  I'll just have to keep reading Dan to find out.