H
Harry Dope
Guest
12 reasons 'bitter' is bad for Obama
A Clinton comeback was looking far-fetched. But operatives in both parties
were buzzing about that possibility Saturday following the revelation that
Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) told wealthy San Franciscans that small-town
Pennsylvanians and Midwesterners "cling to guns or religion" because they
are "bitter" about their economic status.
Obama at first dug in on that contention Friday after audio of the private
fundraiser was posted by The Huffington Post. Altering course, on Saturday
in Muncie, Ind., he conceded that he "didn't say it as well as I should
have." And he told the Winston-Salem (N.C.) Journal that "obviously, if I
worded things in a way that made people offended, I deeply regret that. ...
The underlying truth of what I said remains, which is simply that people who
have seen their way of life upended because of economic distress are
frustrated and rightfully so."
Here is what he said April 6, referring to people living in areas hit by job
losses: "t's not surprising, then, that 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."
The Obama campaign contends that coverage of the San Francisco remarks is
overheated and distorted. One aide said that "any logical analysis" would
make it obvious that the brouhaha will not "change the pledged delegate
count" - the key to the Democratic presidential nomination.
In fact, this is a potential turning point for Obama's campaign - an episode
that could be even more damaging than the attention to remarks by his
minister, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, since this time the controversial words
came out of his own mouth.
Here are a dozen reasons why:
1. It lets Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) off the mat at a time when
even some of her top supporters had begun to despair about her prospects.
Clinton hit back hard on the campaign trail Saturday. And her campaign held
a conference call where former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, a Pittsburgh native,
described Obama's remarks as "condescending and disappointing" and
"undercutting his message of hope."
2. If you are going to say something that makes you sound like a clueless
liberal, don't say it in San Francisco. Obama's views might have been
received very differently if he had expressed them in public to Pennsylvania
voters, saying he understood and could alleviate their frustrations.
3. Some people actually use guns to hunt - not to compensate for a salary
that's less than a U.S. senator's.
4. Some people cling to religion not because they are bitter but because
they believe it, and because faith in God gives them purpose and comfort.
5. Some hard-working Americans find it insulting when rich elites explain
away things dear to their hearts as desperation. It would be like a white
politician telling blacks they cling to charismatic churches to compensate
for their plight. And it vindicates centrist Democrats who have been arguing
for a decade that their party has allowed itself to look culturally out of
touch with the American mainstream.
6. It provides a handy excuse for people who were looking for a reason not
to vote for Obama but don't want to think of themselves as bigoted. It hurts
Obama especially with the former Reagan Democrats, the culturally
conservative, blue-collar workers who could be a promising voter group for
him. It also antagonizes people who were concerned about his minister but
might have given him the benefit of the doubt after his eloquent speech on
race.
7. It gives the Clinton campaign new arguments for trying to recruit
superdelegates, the Democratic elected officials and other insiders who get
a vote on the nomination. A moderate politician from a swing district, for
example, might not want to have to explain support for a candidate who is
being hammered as a liberal. And Clinton's agents can claim that for all the
talk of her being divisive, Obama has provided plenty of fodder to energize
Republicans.
8. It helps Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) frame a potential race against Obama,
even though both of them have found support among independents. Now
Republicans have a simple, easily repeated line of attack to use against
Obama as an out-of-touch snob, as they had with Sen. John F. Kerry after he
blundered by commenting about military funding, "I actually did vote for the
$87 billion before I voted against it."
9. The comments play directly into an already-established narrative about
his candidacy. Clinton supporters have been arguing that Obama has limited
appeal beyond upscale Democrats - the so-called latte liberals. You can't
win red states if people there don't like you. "Elites need to understand
that middle-class Americans view values and culture as more important than
mere trickery," said Paul Begala, a Clinton backer. "Democrats have to
respect their values and reflect their values, not condescend to them as if
they were children who've been bamboozled."
10. The timing is terrible. With the Pennsylvania primary nine days off,
late-deciding voters are starting to tune in. Obama and Clinton are
scheduled to appear separately on CNN on Sunday for a forum on, of all
topics, faith and values. And ABC News is staging a Clinton-Obama debate in
Philadelphia on Wednesday. So Clinton has the maximum opportunity to keep a
spotlight on the issue. Besides sex, little drives the news and opinion
industry more than race, religion, culture and class. So as far as chances
the chattering-class will perpetuate the issue, Obama has hit the jackpot.
11. The story did not have its roots in right-wing or conservative circles.
It was published - and aggressively promoted - by The Huffington Post, a
liberally oriented organization that was Obama's outlet of choice when he
wanted to release a personal statement distancing himself from some comments
by the Rev. Wright.
12. It undermines Democratic congressional candidates who had thought that
Obama would make a stronger top for the ticket than Clinton. Already,
Republican House candidates are challenging their Democratic opponents to
renounce or embrace Obama's remarks. Ken Spain, press secretary for the
National Republican Congressional Committee, said: "There is a myth being
perpetuated by Democrats and even some in the media that an Obama candidacy
would somehow be better for their chances down ballot. But we don't believe
that is the case."
Politico's Jonathan Martin, Jim VandeHei and John F. Harris contributed to
this story.
--
"The government gives them the drugs, builds bigger prisons, passes a
three-strike law and then wants us to sing God Bless America. No, no, no,
God damn America, thats in the Bible for killing innocent people.God damn
America for treating our citizens as less than human. God damn America for
as long as she acts like she is God and she is supreme"
Obama Mentor Rev. Wright
A Clinton comeback was looking far-fetched. But operatives in both parties
were buzzing about that possibility Saturday following the revelation that
Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) told wealthy San Franciscans that small-town
Pennsylvanians and Midwesterners "cling to guns or religion" because they
are "bitter" about their economic status.
Obama at first dug in on that contention Friday after audio of the private
fundraiser was posted by The Huffington Post. Altering course, on Saturday
in Muncie, Ind., he conceded that he "didn't say it as well as I should
have." And he told the Winston-Salem (N.C.) Journal that "obviously, if I
worded things in a way that made people offended, I deeply regret that. ...
The underlying truth of what I said remains, which is simply that people who
have seen their way of life upended because of economic distress are
frustrated and rightfully so."
Here is what he said April 6, referring to people living in areas hit by job
losses: "t's not surprising, then, that 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."
The Obama campaign contends that coverage of the San Francisco remarks is
overheated and distorted. One aide said that "any logical analysis" would
make it obvious that the brouhaha will not "change the pledged delegate
count" - the key to the Democratic presidential nomination.
In fact, this is a potential turning point for Obama's campaign - an episode
that could be even more damaging than the attention to remarks by his
minister, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, since this time the controversial words
came out of his own mouth.
Here are a dozen reasons why:
1. It lets Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) off the mat at a time when
even some of her top supporters had begun to despair about her prospects.
Clinton hit back hard on the campaign trail Saturday. And her campaign held
a conference call where former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, a Pittsburgh native,
described Obama's remarks as "condescending and disappointing" and
"undercutting his message of hope."
2. If you are going to say something that makes you sound like a clueless
liberal, don't say it in San Francisco. Obama's views might have been
received very differently if he had expressed them in public to Pennsylvania
voters, saying he understood and could alleviate their frustrations.
3. Some people actually use guns to hunt - not to compensate for a salary
that's less than a U.S. senator's.
4. Some people cling to religion not because they are bitter but because
they believe it, and because faith in God gives them purpose and comfort.
5. Some hard-working Americans find it insulting when rich elites explain
away things dear to their hearts as desperation. It would be like a white
politician telling blacks they cling to charismatic churches to compensate
for their plight. And it vindicates centrist Democrats who have been arguing
for a decade that their party has allowed itself to look culturally out of
touch with the American mainstream.
6. It provides a handy excuse for people who were looking for a reason not
to vote for Obama but don't want to think of themselves as bigoted. It hurts
Obama especially with the former Reagan Democrats, the culturally
conservative, blue-collar workers who could be a promising voter group for
him. It also antagonizes people who were concerned about his minister but
might have given him the benefit of the doubt after his eloquent speech on
race.
7. It gives the Clinton campaign new arguments for trying to recruit
superdelegates, the Democratic elected officials and other insiders who get
a vote on the nomination. A moderate politician from a swing district, for
example, might not want to have to explain support for a candidate who is
being hammered as a liberal. And Clinton's agents can claim that for all the
talk of her being divisive, Obama has provided plenty of fodder to energize
Republicans.
8. It helps Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) frame a potential race against Obama,
even though both of them have found support among independents. Now
Republicans have a simple, easily repeated line of attack to use against
Obama as an out-of-touch snob, as they had with Sen. John F. Kerry after he
blundered by commenting about military funding, "I actually did vote for the
$87 billion before I voted against it."
9. The comments play directly into an already-established narrative about
his candidacy. Clinton supporters have been arguing that Obama has limited
appeal beyond upscale Democrats - the so-called latte liberals. You can't
win red states if people there don't like you. "Elites need to understand
that middle-class Americans view values and culture as more important than
mere trickery," said Paul Begala, a Clinton backer. "Democrats have to
respect their values and reflect their values, not condescend to them as if
they were children who've been bamboozled."
10. The timing is terrible. With the Pennsylvania primary nine days off,
late-deciding voters are starting to tune in. Obama and Clinton are
scheduled to appear separately on CNN on Sunday for a forum on, of all
topics, faith and values. And ABC News is staging a Clinton-Obama debate in
Philadelphia on Wednesday. So Clinton has the maximum opportunity to keep a
spotlight on the issue. Besides sex, little drives the news and opinion
industry more than race, religion, culture and class. So as far as chances
the chattering-class will perpetuate the issue, Obama has hit the jackpot.
11. The story did not have its roots in right-wing or conservative circles.
It was published - and aggressively promoted - by The Huffington Post, a
liberally oriented organization that was Obama's outlet of choice when he
wanted to release a personal statement distancing himself from some comments
by the Rev. Wright.
12. It undermines Democratic congressional candidates who had thought that
Obama would make a stronger top for the ticket than Clinton. Already,
Republican House candidates are challenging their Democratic opponents to
renounce or embrace Obama's remarks. Ken Spain, press secretary for the
National Republican Congressional Committee, said: "There is a myth being
perpetuated by Democrats and even some in the media that an Obama candidacy
would somehow be better for their chances down ballot. But we don't believe
that is the case."
Politico's Jonathan Martin, Jim VandeHei and John F. Harris contributed to
this story.
--
"The government gives them the drugs, builds bigger prisons, passes a
three-strike law and then wants us to sing God Bless America. No, no, no,
God damn America, thats in the Bible for killing innocent people.God damn
America for treating our citizens as less than human. God damn America for
as long as she acts like she is God and she is supreme"
Obama Mentor Rev. Wright