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http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/Clinton_Small_town/2008/04/12/87443.html
Clinton Hits Obama For Small-Town Voter Remarks
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Democrat Hillary Clinton criticized presidential rival Barack Obama on
Friday for describing small-town Pennsylvania residents as bitter and said
she would help economically struggling communities, not look down on them.
Clinton, whose big Pennsylvania lead over Obama in opinion polls has been
shrinking before their April 22 primary election showdown, said residents in
small towns suffering from job losses across the state were resilient and
optimistic.
"Pennsylvania doesn't need a president who looks down on them," she said at
a rally in Philadelphia. "They need a president who stands up for them, who
fights for them, who works hard for your futures, your jobs, your families."
Obama, an Illinois senator, told a crowd in San Francisco this week he
understood why residents of towns hard hit by manufacturing job losses would
feel bitter.
"You go into these small towns in Pennsylvania and, like a lot of small
towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing's
replaced them," Obama was quoted as saying by the Huffington Post.
"And it's not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or
religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant
sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations."
At a town hall meeting on Friday, Obama said he made the comment because
some supporters heard he was having trouble attracting working-class voters.
He was trying to say he empathized with them.
Clinton, a New York senator and former first lady, once led Obama by double
digits in Pennsylvania, the next battleground in their bruising battle for
the Democratic nomination to face Republican John McCain in November's
presidential election.
That lead has slowly dwindled to about 4 to 6 points in recent polls.
Clinton's biggest backers in Pennsylvania have been blue-collar voters, but
the state has sustained job losses.
A loss in Pennsylvania would almost surely doom Clinton's uphill race to
catch Obama, who leads in delegates who will select the nominee at the
August convention.
The McCain campaign also criticized Obama for the comments, saying that "it
shows an elitism and condescension towards hard-working Americans that is
nothing short of breathtaking."
'I'M IN TOUCH'
In Indiana, Obama bristled at the suggestion he did not understand voters'
concerns.
"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?" Obama said.
"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?" he told a
crowd in Terre Haute, Indiana. "No, I'm in touch. I know exactly what's
going on. ... People are fed up. They're angry and they're frustrated and
they're bitter."
Clinton, whose father was from Pennsylvania, said in Philadelphia she had a
lot of affection for the state and enjoyed traveling through it.
"It's being reported that my opponent said that the people of Pennsylvania
who faced hard times are bitter. Well, that's not my experience," she said.
"As I travel around Pennsylvania, I meet people who are resilient, who are
optimistic, who are positive, who are rolling up their sleeves. They are
working hard everyday for a better future, for themselves and their
children," she said.
Clinton Hits Obama For Small-Town Voter Remarks
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Democrat Hillary Clinton criticized presidential rival Barack Obama on
Friday for describing small-town Pennsylvania residents as bitter and said
she would help economically struggling communities, not look down on them.
Clinton, whose big Pennsylvania lead over Obama in opinion polls has been
shrinking before their April 22 primary election showdown, said residents in
small towns suffering from job losses across the state were resilient and
optimistic.
"Pennsylvania doesn't need a president who looks down on them," she said at
a rally in Philadelphia. "They need a president who stands up for them, who
fights for them, who works hard for your futures, your jobs, your families."
Obama, an Illinois senator, told a crowd in San Francisco this week he
understood why residents of towns hard hit by manufacturing job losses would
feel bitter.
"You go into these small towns in Pennsylvania and, like a lot of small
towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing's
replaced them," Obama was quoted as saying by the Huffington Post.
"And it's not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or
religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant
sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations."
At a town hall meeting on Friday, Obama said he made the comment because
some supporters heard he was having trouble attracting working-class voters.
He was trying to say he empathized with them.
Clinton, a New York senator and former first lady, once led Obama by double
digits in Pennsylvania, the next battleground in their bruising battle for
the Democratic nomination to face Republican John McCain in November's
presidential election.
That lead has slowly dwindled to about 4 to 6 points in recent polls.
Clinton's biggest backers in Pennsylvania have been blue-collar voters, but
the state has sustained job losses.
A loss in Pennsylvania would almost surely doom Clinton's uphill race to
catch Obama, who leads in delegates who will select the nominee at the
August convention.
The McCain campaign also criticized Obama for the comments, saying that "it
shows an elitism and condescension towards hard-working Americans that is
nothing short of breathtaking."
'I'M IN TOUCH'
In Indiana, Obama bristled at the suggestion he did not understand voters'
concerns.
"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?" Obama said.
"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?" he told a
crowd in Terre Haute, Indiana. "No, I'm in touch. I know exactly what's
going on. ... People are fed up. They're angry and they're frustrated and
they're bitter."
Clinton, whose father was from Pennsylvania, said in Philadelphia she had a
lot of affection for the state and enjoyed traveling through it.
"It's being reported that my opponent said that the people of Pennsylvania
who faced hard times are bitter. Well, that's not my experience," she said.
"As I travel around Pennsylvania, I meet people who are resilient, who are
optimistic, who are positive, who are rolling up their sleeves. They are
working hard everyday for a better future, for themselves and their
children," she said.