David Brooks, the “moderate” columnist for the New York Times, is a very deep thinker who understands the important issues of the day well, and who deigns to share his understanding with the plebs as long as he gets a nice paycheck for doing so.

That is the David Brooks you see on TV. In the real world, he is a vapid fool who lives off the fat of the land while disdaining the people who make his nice life possible. One of his most famous observations was that Barack Obama was an incredibly impressive guy, and he shared his thinking with us:

“Usually when I talk to senators, while they may know a policy area better than me, they generally don’t know political philosophy better than me. I got the sense he knew both better than me. … I remember distinctly an image of – we were sitting on his couches, and I was looking at his pant leg and his perfectly creased pant, and I’m thinking, (a) he’s going to be president and (b) he’ll be a very good president.

That is exactly the line of thinking you should expect from a member of the elite class: Barack Obama is one of us. He knows how to wear clothes well.

I wonder if Brooks thinks well of Fetterman? Probably not presidential material.

Brooks, like his colleague Paul Krugman, is doing well for himself and doesn’t quite grasp why we plebs don’t appreciate the great work our elite have been doing managing the US economy. He got a lesson, though, at the Newark airport (yuck) he shared with the world.

Mocking the little people. Good plan, David.

— Bonchie (@bonchieredstate) September 21, 2023

The point Brooks was apparently making is that life is tough for the elite too. Shut up, peasants.

Brooks’ lunch or dinner sure doesn’t look like $78 worth, even at airport prices. That’s because it isn’t. His whisky, though, is top shelf, explaining the cost of the meal.

But social media sleuths quickly unraveled Brooks’ claim—matching the table, glass, chair, sheet and cut of fries to 1911 Smokehouse Barbeque in Newark’s Terminal A, where a burger and fries costs a far more reasonable $17.

The item at the top of Brooks’ photo provided the answer: a glass (or perhaps glasses) of scotch.

“I’m guessing it’s the $30 double barreled whiskey to blame and not the $25 burger & fries entree + tax & tip,” one commenter quipped.

Chances are that the people feeling the effects of Bidenflation aren’t quaffing double barreled whiskies along with their $17 burgers, because most people don’t write for the Times, do nice gigs as TV personalities, or sell books to rich douchebags who think properly creased pants are the mark of a fine presidential candidate.

The restaurant where Brooks ate wasn’t amused at Brooks’ joke at our expense and took quite a shot at him. Personally, I think that was a mistake, if likely a satisfying one to make. Even jerks like Brooks shouldn’t be outed by their service providers. A better response would have been more subtle: “I hope he enjoyed his $30 whiskey” would have made the point more subtly and less pointedly.

If anybody wonders why so many of us think our elite are trash, refer them to this clueless tweet from David Brooks. He lectures us obsessively, interprets the feelings of average Americans for the benefit of his peers, and hasn’t got a clue about how the other half actually lives.

Brooks got quite the ratio on Twitter and deserved it. But scoring points at his expense advances the debate not at all.

Understanding why he and his colleagues are clueless, however, is useful.

Next time you see Brooks, if you ever do, buy him a Bud Light. He would enjoy the ideological affirmation, although disdain the actual beer. Too cheap.