Mustn't be too real, now!

[VoxRat]

Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama has said remarks about "bitter" working-class people "clinging to guns or religion" were ill-chosen. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7344532.stm)

[Esocyn]

I don't see what he said that was so wrong...

Go around to any small-town city in this country, and yeah, they're going to be bitter. Particularly so at their politicians, who are voting their jobs and wages away. Should they be happy?

I'll give Obama this; even though I highly doubt his "change" line, he is saying things that aren't normal for politicians - with some instances having a large grain of truth, like with this situation. I listened to the audio of the original speech, and I couldn't discern anything wrong with what he had said. And his response to Hillary just solidified the fact that he's right on this topic.

When white blue-collar workers, particularly in small towns, get pushed into these corners, they refuse to hold their politicians accountable - rather they do find scapegoats, like immigrants or they do start pushing hard on irrelevant issues like religion. Obama was exactly right, and anyone who has spent 2 seconds in small towns knows this.

[VoxRat]

I don't see what he said that was so wrong......Nor do I, in case that wasn't clear.
Except for giving Hillary and McCain an opportunity to show their dirtbag colors.

[Ray Moscow]

There are all sorts of factual things one can say that would prevent one from being elected to high office in the USA.

[socle]

I don't see what he said that was so wrong......Nor do I, in case that wasn't clear.
Except for giving Hillary and McCain an opportunity to show their dirtbag colors.
Heh. I just heard Hillary calling Obama "elitist" in one of her speeches. :rolleyes:

[laughing dog]

I don't see what he said that was so wrong......Nor do I, in case that wasn't clear.
Except for giving Hillary and McCain an opportunity to show their dirtbag colors.
Heh. I just heard Hillary calling Obama "elitist" in one of her speeches. :rolleyes: Clinton is desperate. She will use anything to win in PA. She is doing her best to get those "clingers" out to vote.

[Notta_skeptic]

As a nearly life-long resident of small town, PA, I agree with Obama. PA has the 2nd highest numbers of Klu Klux Klan members in the country. 99% of the population in towns outside Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and Harrisburg is white. I grew up in a town of >500 people, and it had two churches. Every small town has a church, which is usually the center for all community events. The first day of deer season is an official school holiday (many schools take off 3 full days!), and the NRA is very popular.

[AthenaAwakened]

What Obama Has Said Since

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/04/11/clinton-mccain-respond-to_n_96318.html

"When I go around and I talk to people there is frustration and there is anger and there is bitterness. And what's worse is when people are expressing their anger then politicians try to say what are you angry about? This just happened - I want to make a point here today.

"I was in San Francisco talking to a group at a fundraiser and somebody asked how're you going to get votes in Pennsylvania? What's going on there? We hear that's its hard for some working class people to get behind you're campaign. I said, "Well look, they're frustrated and for good reason. Because for the last 25 years they've seen jobs shipped overseas. They've seen their economies collapse. They have lost their jobs. They have lost their pensions. They have lost their healthcare.

"And for 25, 30 years Democrats and Republicans have come before them and said we're going to make your community better. We're going to make it right and nothing ever happens. And of course they're bitter. Of course they're frustrated. You would be too. In fact many of you are. Because the same thing has happened here in Indiana. The same thing happened across the border in Decatur. The same thing has happened all across the country. Nobody is looking out for you. Nobody is thinking about you. And so people end up- they don't vote on economic issues because they don't expect anybody's going to help them. So people end up, you know, voting on issues like guns, and are they going to have the right to bear arms. They vote on issues like gay marriage. And they take refuge in their faith and their community and their families and things they can count on. But they don't believe they can count on Washington. So I made this statement-- so, here's what rich. Senator Clinton says 'No, I don't think that people are bitter in Pennsylvania. You know, I think Barack's being condescending.' John McCain says, 'Oh, how could he say that? How could he say people are bitter? You know, he's obviously out of touch with people.'

"Out of touch? Out of touch? I mean, John McCain--it took him three tries to finally figure out that the home foreclosure crisis was a problem and to come up with a plan for it, and he's saying I'm out of touch? Senator Clinton voted for a credit card-sponsored bankruptcy bill that made it harder for people to get out of debt after taking money from the financial services companies, and she says I'm out of touch? No, I'm in touch. I know exactly what's going on. I know what's going on in Pennsylvania. I know what's going on in Indiana. I know what's going on in Illinois. People are fed-up. They're angry and they're frustrated and they're bitter. And they want to see a change in Washington and that's why I'm running for President of the United States of America."

[trendkill]

That was a great save. But I would never have known it if I had gone by "Meet the Press" yesterday, cause all they played was the end of it.

[Plognark]

The more I hear from Obama, the more I want to vote for him.

He expresses a rare comprehension of American life across many cultures and regions that I've not seen in any other politician.