Alfred E. Neuman and the politics of mass culture

A minor kerfluffle erupted yesterday when Trump came out with a new insult directed at Pete Buttigieg -- "Alfred E. Neuman cannot become President of the United States."  My own reaction was "I don't see why not, when Biff Tannen is President right now."  Buttigieg has attracted some kudos for his own response:

Asked about Trump's put-down by POLITICO in San Francisco on Friday, the 37-year-old Buttigieg professed ignorance about the comic book character, whose fame peaked more than 20 years ago, while making a veiled reference to the 72-year-old Trump's seniority. "I'll be honest. I had to Google that," he said. "I guess it’s just a generational thing.  I didn’t get the reference.  It's kind of funny, I guess.  But he's also the president of the United States and I'm surprised he's not spending more time trying to salvage this China deal."

Alfred E. Neuman is not exactly a "comic book character", but let it pass.  I'm actually not so sure that Buttigieg got the better of this exchange.  Yes, Trump's insult was moronic, as all his insults are.  But the reference wasn't all that ancient or obscure.  Mad Magazine was a mainstream part of mass culture for decades, and Alfred E. Neuman is probably familiar to most people over 40 and a lot of people over 30.  That's half the population and a lot more than half the voting population.  Obama made a joke referencing the character in 2008.  Nobody then seemed to think it was bizarrely obscure.

A common trope directed against highly-intellectual candidates like Buttigieg is that they're culturally snobbish and aloof, disdainful of the interests and enthusiasms of ordinary people.  In most cases it's a false accusation.  I would certainly be vulnerable to such insinuations if I were running for office, given (for example) my total lack of interest in sports and the fact that I haven't owned a TV set in over twenty years.  In fact, this simply reflects my real interests, not snobbery -- some of my cultural tastes would strike most people as very "lowbrow" indeed.  But it's a meme that can stick, in politics.  By advertising the fact (if it's even true) that he didn't know who Alfred E. Neuman was, Buttigieg potentially gave it just a little more credibility in his own case.

This one exchange was likely too minor to have any real impact, but it's symbolic of something we need to watch out for.  As I pointed out here, the left does have a reflexive tendency to react with disdain and exasperation to the influence of celebrities and popular entertainment on the thinking of great masses of people -- and we're very foolish to do so.  That influence is vast.  Most people, most of the time, pay far more attention to celebrities or movies they like than they do to politics, because the former is fun while the latter is a dreary necessity.

I'll feel better if our eventual nominee is someone who is familiar with Alfred E. Neuman and suchlike imagery and concepts from mass culture.  It's trite but true that a lot of voters want a candidate who comes across like a regular guy they could have a beer with, even if he's smarter than most.