Changes

== Politics ==

== Politics ==

Stephen King is a [[liberal]]; he is a self-proclaimed supporter of the [[Democratic Party]], and [[Barack Obama]].<ref>[http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/175900,stephen-king-backing-barack-obama.html Stephen King backing Barack Obama: US Entertainment]{{Dead link|date=September 2010}}</ref> He has also expressed distaste for [[conservative]] political commentators such as [[Rush Limbaugh]], [[Bill O'Reilly]], and [[Glenn Beck]].<ref>[http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1924348-3,00.html Roberts, Nicholas "Mad Man: Is Glenn Beck Bad for America?" ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine/''[[The New York Times]]'', September 17, 2009; Page 3 of 4]</ref>

Stephen King is a [[liberal]]; he is a self-proclaimed supporter of the [[Democratic Party]], and [[Barack Obama]].<ref>[https://www.realitytvworld.com/news/stephen-king-backing-barack-obama-50049396.php Stephen King backing Barack Obama]</ref> He has also expressed distaste for [[conservative]] political commentators such as [[Rush Limbaugh]], [[Bill O'Reilly]], and [[Glenn Beck]].<ref>[http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1924348-3,00.html Roberts, Nicholas "Mad Man: Is Glenn Beck Bad for America?" ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine/''[[The New York Times]]'', September 17, 2009; Page 3 of 4]</ref>

On April 4, 2008, King made comments which have been criticized as elitist and anti-military.  While addressing a symposium of high school students, he stated that "The fact is if you can read, you can walk into a job later on. If you don't, then you've got the Army, Iraq, I don't know, something like that."  These comments were criticized by Noel Sheppard, a conservative blogger.<ref>http://newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-sheppard/2008/05/05/writer-stephen-king-if-you-cant-read-youll-end-army-or-iraq</ref>  King has since refused to apologize for the comments, blaming the controversy on conservative commentators and claiming that Sheppard and other conservatives "...take their cues from [conservative commentators Rush] Limbaugh and [Bill] O’Reilly, who are adept at shifting discussion from what they don’t want to talk about, such as the failures of the war in Iraq, to what they want to talk about..."    According to King, "[Conservative commentators] shift the discussion away from education to who’s supporting the troops. Of course, I support the troops. In this country, there’s an equating of intelligence with elitism, and elitism with being unpatriotic. But smart people love the U.S., too." <ref>http://bangornews.com/news/t/city.aspx?articleid=164062&zoneid=176</ref>

On April 4, 2008, King made comments which have been criticized as elitist and anti-military.  While addressing a symposium of high school students, he stated that "The fact is if you can read, you can walk into a job later on. If you don't, then you've got the Army, Iraq, I don't know, something like that."  These comments were criticized by Noel Sheppard, a conservative blogger.<ref>http://newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-sheppard/2008/05/05/writer-stephen-king-if-you-cant-read-youll-end-army-or-iraq</ref>  King has since refused to apologize for the comments, blaming the controversy on conservative commentators and claiming that Sheppard and other conservatives "...take their cues from [conservative commentators Rush] Limbaugh and [Bill] O’Reilly, who are adept at shifting discussion from what they don’t want to talk about, such as the failures of the war in Iraq, to what they want to talk about..."    According to King, "[Conservative commentators] shift the discussion away from education to who’s supporting the troops. Of course, I support the troops. In this country, there’s an equating of intelligence with elitism, and elitism with being unpatriotic. But smart people love the U.S., too." <ref>http://bangornews.com/news/t/city.aspx?articleid=164062&zoneid=176</ref>