title: this.$el and jQuery
body: <p>I'm trying to do something deceptively simple -- adding a class to the active backbone element. The code I want to use is:</p>
  
  <pre><code> this.$el.addClass('classIWant');
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>However, this doesn't work all the time. Sometimes it seems to, but not all the time. However, this always works.</p>
  
  <pre><code> var id = this.$el.attr('id');
  
   $('#' + id).addClass('classIWant');
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>Obviously I don't want the second example, as it relies so heavily on HTML and the DOM. Is there any reason why the first shouldn't work, or am I missing something else?</p>