Politics became the arena of fighting factions between old and new elites, bureaucrats, and generals. Classical Chinese was the literary language of elites and bureaucrats. Nationalism made war a competition between peoples, nations or races rather than kings and elites. These herds also came to symbolize class distinctions between the commoners and the elites. Kennedy traveled extensively to build his support among Democratic elites and voters. This helped previous territorial elites remain within national politics. Taxes were kept high, undermining the wealth of the elites. Burnham attempts a scientific analysis of both elites and politics generally. There were analogous traditional social elites, especially those based in cities. Loss of imperial power also led to the rise of provincial warrior elites. This allowed full-time ruling elites and military commanders to emerge. Laws were enforced primarily by local officials controlled by the local elites. They were used as status display amongst disparate elites. Imperial officials were responsible for assessing the quality of the talents recommended by local elites. The model caught on being championed by the clergy and the countryside elites.