I guess I'm in a disagreeable mood today. From what I remember of my grad days in political science: elites are a subset of the population that have disproportionate power & influence in society. Think the upper socio-economic crust, ie. the very wealthy, corporate power, the media owners.

Steve: the people you're referencing are powerless. That's why we're in the blogosphere rather than the movers & shakers in the inner offices that are pulling the levers of power. My sense is that, sociologically, progressives that are abstract come mainly from comfortable middle class backgrounds where there's pride in thinking about societal issues. We need this & it certainly resonates with a portion of the American population. However, electoral campaigns to be successful, need to focus on gut issues. This is why progressives, who want us to campaign mainly on abstract principles, are a detriment to our cause.