"Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama sought to convince Americans he is not elitist on Thursday as new polls showed his aura of inevitability has declined after weeks of negative headlines."

"I find it frankly a little offensive that people who don't have to worry about filling up their gas tank � think that it's somehow illegitimate to provide relief for the millions and millions of Americans who are � unable to keep up with their daily expenses."

SIDEBAR

That "Fort Wayne, Indiana" dateline reminded me of another elitist story.

Dan Quayle was the Congressman from Fort Wayne. I was Quayle's press secretary when he was a Congressman and a Senator.

In the 1980 race for US Senate against 18-year-incumbent Birch Bayh, Time Magazine insisted on referring to Quayle the same way that Bayh did: J. Danforth Quayle - a clear attempt to mark Quayle as an elitist man of privilege.

I called the Time bureau in Chicago and complained that they were giving credence to a ploy being used by Birch Bayh - although I've always thought a guy named "Birch" didn't have much to complain about a guy named "Danforth".

The editor I talked to said that Quayle's name was James Danforth Quayle and therefore their usage was legit. I countered with the fact that they weren't calling the incumbent President "James Earl Carter". They were using his preferred construct: "Jimmy."

We finally decided on a test. I asked whether he would accept the name the official publication the "Congressional Directory" used. He said he would. vCongressman Quayle was referred to as "Dan Quayle" by Time Magazine for the rest of the campaign.

I had looked it up. I knew the answer before I had made the bet.

END SIDEBAR