In one of her columns Kathleen Parker quotes a dopey Appalachian writer named Ron Rash on what he thinks Barack Obama should tell the people of Appalachia:

“I know that for well over a century, the only time people come to Appalachia is when they want something. They want your coal, your timber and they want your vote. They take what they want and they leave and they don’t come back until they want some more. I’m not going to do that.”

What Rash fails to mention is that they leave their money before they depart. If I lived in a remote, resource-rich region that’s exactly what I would want people to do — come with their money, take what they need and get the hell out of town until they need more. Apparently Rash wants people to come with their money and take nothing in return. He especially wants a socialist like Obama to come back often bearing abundant gifts from the taxpayers.

The only time anyone goes anywhere is when they want something. And they usually don’t stay after they get it. Even on charitable missions people are seeking gratification from helping others in need.

I hardly think that Rash or Parker are spokespersons for Appalachia. Most of the people who live there do so because they enjoy the lifestyle. For them it doesn’t include hordes of Obama’s public service volunteers telling them what they should do and think.