Obama hates Southerners, especially you CCTAU

[bigsixfive 328]

He was speaking about Pennsylvanians (way to go after those last few votes, bud!), but the guns and religions thing targets his comments below the Mason Dixon line.

Hillary Clinton and John McCain both ripped into Barack Obama Friday for reportedly saying residents of small-town America “cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them” out of bitterness over lost jobs, a remark his opponents interpreted as arrogant.

The Huffington Post reported that Obama made the comments while speaking to a group of wealthy California donors in San Francisco over the weekend. The Post quotes him specifically singling out towns in Pennsylvania, where he’s trying to woo voters and overcome Clinton’s lead in the polls before the state’s April 22 primary.

http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/04/11/ob...l-town-america/

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...And they fell through the Clinton administration, and the Bush administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not.

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.

~Barack Obama

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/04/11/c...to_n_96318.html

[TexasTiger 13,136]

More moronic, lying BS.

He was speaking about Pennsylvanians (way to go after those last few votes, bud!), but the guns and religions thing targets his comments below the Mason Dixon line.

Hillary Clinton and John McCain both ripped into Barack Obama Friday for reportedly saying residents of small-town America “cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them” out of bitterness over lost jobs, a remark his opponents interpreted as arrogant.

The Huffington Post reported that Obama made the comments while speaking to a group of wealthy California donors in San Francisco over the weekend. The Post quotes him specifically singling out towns in Pennsylvania, where he’s trying to woo voters and overcome Clinton’s lead in the polls before the state’s April 22 primary.

http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/04/11/ob...l-town-america/

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...And they fell through the Clinton administration, and the Bush administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not.

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.

~Barack Obama

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/04/11/c...to_n_96318.html

[TitanTiger 20,542]

It sounds like it full context with the added info from Huffington Post that the quote is being misconstrued and even perhaps a bad paraphrase.

[TexasTiger 13,136]

It sounds like it full context with the added info from Huffington Post that the quote is being misconstrued and even perhaps a bad paraphrase.

The quote is being misconstrued, and BigSix makes it a full-blown lie-- "Obama hates Southerners." Some folks like him have no interest in the truth, only feeding their already existing stereotypes. Some folks are just too damn lazy to even think, so they make sure they don't have to.

[arnaldoabru 11]

Same ole, same ole, we have nothing to run on so........

[japantiger 4,052]

Sounds like a typical liberal BS way to try to say folks don't cling to religion because it's right; but only because they have been forgotten by the system. As if to say, no "normal" person would cling to religion; only the hopeless or left behind can possibly find solice in religion...

This is the same condescending way he handled the Wright flap...he didn't say that Wright was a nut and racist; he said my white Grandma was a racist and because of that it's OK that Wright is a racist.

[TitanTiger 20,542]

Except in the fuller reading, that's not what he apparently said.

[TexasTiger 13,136]

Sounds like a typical liberal BS way to try to say folks don't cling to religion because it's right; but only because they have been forgotten by the system. As if to say, no "normal" person would cling to religion; only the hopeless or left behind can possibly find solice in religion...

This is the same condescending way he handled the Wright flap...he didn't say that Wright was a nut and racist; he said my white Grandma was a racist and because of that it's OK that Wright is a racist.

You make it out to be what you already believe. Here's what he said:

OBAMA: So, it depends on where you are, but I think it's fair to say that the places where we are going to have to do the most work are the places where people feel most cynical about government. The people are mis-appre...I think they're misunderstanding why the demographics in our, in this contest have broken out as they are. Because everybody just ascribes it to 'white working-class don't wanna work -- don't wanna vote for the black guy.' That's...there were intimations of that in an article in the Sunday New York Times today - kind of implies that it's sort of a race thing.

Here's how it is: in a lot of these communities in big industrial states like Ohio and Pennsylvania, people have been beaten down so long, and they feel so betrayed by government, and when they hear a pitch that is premised on not being cynical about government, then a part of them just doesn't buy it. And when it's delivered by -- it's true that when it's delivered by a 46-year-old black man named Barack Obama (laugher), then that adds another layer of skepticism (laughter).

But -- so the questions you're most likely to get about me, 'Well, what is this guy going to do for me? What's the concrete thing?' What they wanna hear is -- so, we'll give you talking points about what we're proposing -- close tax loopholes, roll back, you know, the tax cuts for the top 1 percent. Obama's gonna give tax breaks to middle-class folks and we're gonna provide health care for every American. So we'll go down a series of talking points.

But the truth is, is that, our challenge is to get people persuaded that we can make progress when there's not evidence of that in their daily lives. You go into some of 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. And they fell through the Clinton administration, and the Bush administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not. So it'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.

Um, now these are in some communities, you know. I think what you'll find is, is that people of every background -- there are gonna be a mix of people, you can go in the toughest neighborhoods, you know working-class lunch-pail folks, you'll find Obama enthusiasts. And you can go into places where you think I'd be very strong and people will just be skeptical. The important thing is that you show up and you're doing what you're doing.

Here's his response tonight:

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/188566.php

And he never said what Wright had said was okay. He denounced it strongly. He did say he didn't necessarily disown the people in his life that said things he disagreed with. I doubt you do, either. Ever had a relative use the "N' word? How about the man in the mirror?

[au2004ece 30]

Sounds like a typical liberal BS way to try to say folks don't cling to religion because it's right; but only because they have been forgotten by the system. As if to say, no "normal" person would cling to religion; only the hopeless or left behind can possibly find solice in religion...

This is the same condescending way he handled the Wright flap...he didn't say that Wright was a nut and racist; he said my white Grandma was a racist and because of that it's OK that Wright is a racist.

You make it out to be what you already believe. Here's what he said:

OBAMA: So, it depends on where you are, but I think it's fair to say that the places where we are going to have to do the most work are the places where people feel most cynical about government. The people are mis-appre...I think they're misunderstanding why the demographics in our, in this contest have broken out as they are. Because everybody just ascribes it to 'white working-class don't wanna work -- don't wanna vote for the black guy.' That's...there were intimations of that in an article in the Sunday New York Times today - kind of implies that it's sort of a race thing.

Here's how it is: in a lot of these communities in big industrial states like Ohio and Pennsylvania, people have been beaten down so long, and they feel so betrayed by government, and when they hear a pitch that is premised on not being cynical about government, then a part of them just doesn't buy it. And when it's delivered by -- it's true that when it's delivered by a 46-year-old black man named Barack Obama (laugher), then that adds another layer of skepticism (laughter).

But -- so the questions you're most likely to get about me, 'Well, what is this guy going to do for me? What's the concrete thing?' What they wanna hear is -- so, we'll give you talking points about what we're proposing -- close tax loopholes, roll back, you know, the tax cuts for the top 1 percent. Obama's gonna give tax breaks to middle-class folks and we're gonna provide health care for every American. So we'll go down a series of talking points.

But the truth is, is that, our challenge is to get people persuaded that we can make progress when there's not evidence of that in their daily lives. You go into some of 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. And they fell through the Clinton administration, and the Bush administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not. So it'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.

Um, now these are in some communities, you know. I think what you'll find is, is that people of every background -- there are gonna be a mix of people, you can go in the toughest neighborhoods, you know working-class lunch-pail folks, you'll find Obama enthusiasts. And you can go into places where you think I'd be very strong and people will just be skeptical. The important thing is that you show up and you're doing what you're doing.

Here's his response tonight:

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/188566.php

And he never said what Wright had said was okay. He denounced it strongly. He did say he didn't necessarily disown the people in his life that said things he disagreed with. I doubt you do, either. Ever had a relative use the "N' word? How about the man in the mirror?

Who cares what Obama says, he won't run run on what he is. He is Mr. Socialist! Run that way! Tell the truth! Let America know that if they vote for Obama, they are voting for a Socialist! What is wrong with telling the truth?

[TexasTiger 13,136]

Sounds like a typical liberal BS way to try to say folks don't cling to religion because it's right; but only because they have been forgotten by the system. As if to say, no "normal" person would cling to religion; only the hopeless or left behind can possibly find solice in religion...

This is the same condescending way he handled the Wright flap...he didn't say that Wright was a nut and racist; he said my white Grandma was a racist and because of that it's OK that Wright is a racist.

You make it out to be what you already believe. Here's what he said:

OBAMA: So, it depends on where you are, but I think it's fair to say that the places where we are going to have to do the most work are the places where people feel most cynical about government. The people are mis-appre...I think they're misunderstanding why the demographics in our, in this contest have broken out as they are. Because everybody just ascribes it to 'white working-class don't wanna work -- don't wanna vote for the black guy.' That's...there were intimations of that in an article in the Sunday New York Times today - kind of implies that it's sort of a race thing.

Here's how it is: in a lot of these communities in big industrial states like Ohio and Pennsylvania, people have been beaten down so long, and they feel so betrayed by government, and when they hear a pitch that is premised on not being cynical about government, then a part of them just doesn't buy it. And when it's delivered by -- it's true that when it's delivered by a 46-year-old black man named Barack Obama (laugher), then that adds another layer of skepticism (laughter).

But -- so the questions you're most likely to get about me, 'Well, what is this guy going to do for me? What's the concrete thing?' What they wanna hear is -- so, we'll give you talking points about what we're proposing -- close tax loopholes, roll back, you know, the tax cuts for the top 1 percent. Obama's gonna give tax breaks to middle-class folks and we're gonna provide health care for every American. So we'll go down a series of talking points.

But the truth is, is that, our challenge is to get people persuaded that we can make progress when there's not evidence of that in their daily lives. You go into some of 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. And they fell through the Clinton administration, and the Bush administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not. So it'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.

Um, now these are in some communities, you know. I think what you'll find is, is that people of every background -- there are gonna be a mix of people, you can go in the toughest neighborhoods, you know working-class lunch-pail folks, you'll find Obama enthusiasts. And you can go into places where you think I'd be very strong and people will just be skeptical. The important thing is that you show up and you're doing what you're doing.

Here's his response tonight:

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/188566.php

And he never said what Wright had said was okay. He denounced it strongly. He did say he didn't necessarily disown the people in his life that said things he disagreed with. I doubt you do, either. Ever had a relative use the "N' word? How about the man in the mirror?

Who cares what Obama says, he won't run run on what he is. He is Mr. Socialist! Run that way! Tell the truth! Let America know that if they vote for Obama, they are voting for a Socialist! What is wrong with telling the truth?

You should really try to understand the words you throw around. What's wrong with knowing what you're talking about?

[TitanTiger 20,542]

Yet another example of either/or thinking. You're either a laissez-faire capitalist or a rabid socialist. As if there's nothing in between.

It's not a choice of one extreme or the other. Every candidate running is on a continuum on this issue. Obama isn't a socialist and McCain is not a hard-care capitalist.

Think deeper.

[AUTiger1 0]

What ticks me off is this is no different that when McCain made the 100 years comment, but no one listed to the whole context of what he was saying. Yet the left and Obama himself took that one sentence and tried to make political hay off it. It was ok to slam McCain for that but it's not ok to slam Obama for this. I am beginning to see a pattern of double standard here.

(None of you on the left spoke up and said that Obama took it out of context, but the left are the first to jump on someone when it happens to their guy)

I agree that this was taken out of context, but I would love for someone on the left to say that what Obama is out on the campaign trail saying about McCain "John McCain wants to stay in Iraq 100 years", and say that it was taken out of context too.(and yes I have heard him say those exact words and it is all over the media, so don't ask for a link, look it up and you will find it). I have yet to hear it. The left and their double standards make me sick

This to me is also no different when Obama (he has even changed his view on Iraq...read the Boston globe sometime) has a change of heart his ideas are "evolving" but when McCain changes his ideas on an issue he is a flip flopper. Also no different than being all over McCain for not getting two sect of peoples in the same country, which 90% of all Americans can't even do, and yet no one slammed Obama when he confused two entire different countries or when he didn't even know who the new leader of the Soviet Union was going to be or couldn't pronounce his name, whatever......so little media coverage and so little said about that one that I have already forgot. I think that should prove the point.

(I also seem to remember a post made trying to slam McCain, but he manned up and said years ago he was wrong about the MLK Holiday and he apologized. It was posted for one reason and that was to try and make McCain look bad. I do remember TexasTiger saying something about this was a non issue, but that was the only time I have ever seen an Obama supporter call a spade a spade)

I am by no means supporting McCain. I call him McLiberal to poke fun at the guy, just as I would also call Obama, Barry Hussien Osama, and I call Hillary, Hiltary. The thought of having to elect one of the three as my next president makes me So take it how you want to to take it, but I am sick of the double standard game that seems to be getting played. Yeah I know, McCain's camp does it too, they have already pounced on this statement, I guess that is just payback for Obama doing the same thing about one of McCain's comments taken out of context.

[au2004ece 30]

Who cares what Obama says, he won't run run on what he is. He is Mr. Socialist! Run that way! Tell the truth! Let America know that if they vote for Obama, they are voting for a Socialist! What is wrong with telling the truth?

You should really try to understand the words you throw around. What's wrong with knowing what you're talking about?

Yet another example of either/or thinking. You're either a laissez-faire capitalist or a rabid socialist. As if there's nothing in between.

It's not a choice of one extreme or the other. Every candidate running is on a continuum on this issue. Obama isn't a socialist and McCain is not a hard-care capitalist.

Think deeper.

I understand exactly what I am saying. All of Obama's economic policies are socialist. Is "socialist" a bad word? There is nothing wrong with Socialism at it's heart. Socialism is based on the good ideal that we should all take care of each other. The problem with Socialist politicians is that they seek to FORCE that ideal on everyone through governmental edicts.

[TitanTiger 20,542]

No, all of his policies are not socialist. If you think so, then you don't understand the definition of "socialism." All modern politicians in this country believe in government involvement and interference in the free markets to one degree or another. Or they believe in a hands off approach to some segments or aspects and heavy involvement in other areas.

Socialism is, by definition, the ideal that we take care of each other in a manner that is ensured through government intervention. In fact, it goes even further in that all the means of production, property and total distribution of wealth are held in common among all the people and that is enforced through government. Pure socialist economic systems are like Cuba or the old USSR (although with a lot of additional totalitarian elements.) Not even Communist China's economy is purely socialistic anymore. So to suggest that Obama's economic plans are socialist is either being disingenuous or is evidence that you don't understand the term.

[Tigermike 3,078]

So Obama said "You go into some of 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. And they fell through the Clinton administration, and the Bush administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not.

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."

And Tex you don't see any evidence of elitism, arrogance and condescension toward hard-working small town and rural Americans? You don't see any evidence of arrogance from the preacher of hope? It seems to me he was saying that people that aren't like him support the 1st and 2nd Amendment's because they are bitter and xenophobic. Well I have news for the Senator from the State of Illinois. All us small town people don't support the 1st and 2nd Amendment's because we're bitter. We support them because we love freedom and because we understand freedom -- apparently a hell of a lot better than Senator Obama does.

As one of those "typical white folks" that Obama spoke of. As one of those small town people of the South and flyover America, I view his remarks as just one more in a long line of Progressive /Liberal elitist put downs of small town America. I grew up in a rural agricultural community in Shelby county and in the suburbs of Birmingham. Before they were suburbs when they were just communities on the outskirts of Birmingham. I have guns and I have God in my heart. The small town America I know may have guns and they may have their religion, but that small town America sure as hell doesn't cling to either out of bitterness. As Hank Williams Jr said in a song: "Country folks can survive". In fact in the same song he said;

"we say grace and we say Ma’am

And if you ain’t into that we don’t give a damn."

I think he wrote that song for Barrack Obama.

"you can’t starve us out

And you cant makes us run"

"We’re from North California and south Alabam

And little towns all around this land

And we can skin a buck; we can run a trot-line

And a country boy can survive

Country folks can survive"

For the most part we are a self-reliant. We don't look to, nor do we expect, the government to coddle us or solve every minuscule problem that some Progressive /Liberal elitist politician can identify. Actually we tend to think government more often than not, is the problem. President Reagan, understood that and spoke to that and engineered two great victories didn't he? The more we can keep the government out of lives, the better off we are. Something Obama has no inkling of understanding about.

Personally I resent Obama's assertion that us typical country folk (white or black) suffer from "antipathy" toward others. I find it highly offensive. I was raised to respect others (black or white) and was taught that I should strive to be more like God, to be "no respecter of persons." I've always tried to do that, and so do the small town folk I know.

It doesn't appear and I don't think that Obama's remarks will cost him the Democratic nomination, even if Hillary wins Pennsylvania. But thinking back to the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections and it is easy to realize just how "out of touch" Obama really is. And how more and more of those little blue dots are growing more and more purple if not bright red.

The McCain campaign understands:

"McCain sees working-class voters -- many of them once and possibly still "Reagan Democrats" -- as a critical constituency for his hopes of winning the White House. His advisers say Obama will have trouble locking down that support in the general election because his message has been focused more on changing the system than on delivering results.

"It's a remarkable statement and extremely revealing," McCain adviser Steve Schmidt said in a statement. "It shows an elitism and condescension towards hardworking Americans that is nothing short of breathtaking, it is hard to imagine someone running for president who is more out of touch with average Americans."

I can only hope that Obama's handlers don't keep him chained to a teleprompter. Because every time he opens his mouth and says what is on his mind and in his heart, he exposes himself to the real world as the extremist he is.

Obama concedes remarks were ill chosen

AP - 42 minutes ago

AP - Democrat Barack Obama on Saturday conceded that comments he made about bitter working class voters who "cling to guns or religion" were ill chosen, as he tried to stem a burst of complaints that he is condescending.

http://news.yahoo.com/elections/

This would be where Obama has his picture taken with 20 or 30 flags.

“Vote For Me, You Corncob-Smokin’, Banjo-Strokin’ Chicken-Chokin’ Cousin-Pokin’ Inbred Hillbilly Racist Morons.” Barack Obama

[TexasTiger 13,136]

You'll see what you want in those remarks. Interesting how you are echoing Hillary's current talkingpoints, though.

But, no, TigerMike and Hillary, I don't see elitism in those remarks. I see some measure of understanding and empathy.

There is anti-trade sentiment and anti-immigrant sentiment in much of the country, and in particular in the rustbelt where they have seen their quality of life diminish with little evidence of much better on the horizon. And Republicans have spent decades now scaring folks that the Dems are going to take their guns while they supported policies that took their jobs. The larger context from which you took your quote shows Obama arguing against those who claim folks oppose him because of his race:

Because everybody just ascribes it to 'white working-class don't wanna work -- don't wanna vote for the black guy.' That's...there were intimations of that in an article in the Sunday New York Times today - kind of implies that it's sort of a race thing.

Here's how it is: in a lot of these communities in big industrial states like Ohio and Pennsylvania, people have been beaten down so long, and they feel so betrayed by government, and when they hear a pitch that is premised on not being cynical about government, then a part of them just doesn't buy it. And when it's delivered by -- it's true that when it's delivered by a 46-year-old black man named Barack Obama (laugher), then that adds another layer of skepticism (laughter).

But -- so the questions you're most likely to get about me, 'Well, what is this guy going to do for me? What's the concrete thing?' What they wanna hear is -- so, we'll give you talking points about what we're proposing -- close tax loopholes, roll back, you know, the tax cuts for the top 1 percent. Obama's gonna give tax breaks to middle-class folks and we're gonna provide health care for every American. So we'll go down a series of talking points.

But the truth is, is that, our challenge is to get people persuaded that we can make progress when there's not evidence of that in their daily lives. You go into some of 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. And they fell through the Clinton administration, and the Bush administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not. So it'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.

Um, now these are in some communities, you know. I think what you'll find is, is that people of every background -- there are gonna be a mix of people, you can go in the toughest neighborhoods, you know working-class lunch-pail folks, you'll find Obama enthusiasts. And you can go into places where you think I'd be very strong and people will just be skeptical. The important thing is that you show up and you're doing what you're doing.

He wasn't talking about Southerners at all. He was talking about folks in the industrial midwest, which is where he has lived and worked for years.

The identical crap spewed from HRC and McCain just shows how much both of them engage in the same old political bullsh*t of distorting and labeling, even when someone speaks the truth.

So Obama said "You go into some of 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. And they fell through the Clinton administration, and the Bush administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not.

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."

And Tex you don't see any evidence of elitism, arrogance and condescension toward hard-working small town and rural Americans? You don't see any evidence of arrogance from the preacher of hope? It seems to me he was saying that people that aren't like him support the 1st and 2nd Amendment's because they are bitter and xenophobic. Well I have news for the Senator from the State of Illinois. All us small town people don't support the 1st and 2nd Amendment's because we're bitter. We support them because we love freedom and because we understand freedom -- apparently a hell of a lot better than Senator Obama does.

As one of those "typical white folks" that Obama spoke of. As one of those small town people of the South and flyover America, I view his remarks as just one more in a long line of Progressive /Liberal elitist put downs of small town America. I grew up in a rural agricultural community in Shelby county and in the suburbs of Birmingham. Before they were suburbs when they were just communities on the outskirts of Birmingham. I have guns and I have God in my heart. The small town America I know may have guns and they may have their religion, but that small town America sure as hell doesn't cling to either out of bitterness. As Hank Williams Jr said in a song: "Country folks can survive". In fact in the same song he said;

"we say grace and we say Ma’am

And if you ain’t into that we don’t give a damn."

I think he wrote that song for Barrack Obama.

"you can’t starve us out

And you cant makes us run"

"We’re from North California and south Alabam

And little towns all around this land

And we can skin a buck; we can run a trot-line

And a country boy can survive

Country folks can survive"

For the most part we are a self-reliant. We don't look to, nor do we expect, the government to coddle us or solve every minuscule problem that some Progressive /Liberal elitist politician can identify. Actually we tend to think government more often than not, is the problem. President Reagan, understood that and spoke to that and engineered two great victories didn't he? The more we can keep the government out of lives, the better off we are. Something Obama has no inkling of understanding about.

Personally I resent Obama's assertion that us typical country folk (white or black) suffer from "antipathy" toward others. I find it highly offensive. I was raised to respect others (black or white) and was taught that I should strive to be more like God, to be "no respecter of persons." I've always tried to do that, and so do the small town folk I know.

It doesn't appear and I don't think that Obama's remarks will cost him the Democratic nomination, even if Hillary wins Pennsylvania. But thinking back to the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections and it is easy to realize just how "out of touch" Obama really is. And how more and more of those little blue dots are growing more and more purple if not bright red.

The McCain campaign understands:

"McCain sees working-class voters -- many of them once and possibly still "Reagan Democrats" -- as a critical constituency for his hopes of winning the White House. His advisers say Obama will have trouble locking down that support in the general election because his message has been focused more on changing the system than on delivering results.

"It's a remarkable statement and extremely revealing," McCain adviser Steve Schmidt said in a statement. "It shows an elitism and condescension towards hardworking Americans that is nothing short of breathtaking, it is hard to imagine someone running for president who is more out of touch with average Americans."

I can only hope that Obama's handlers don't keep him chained to a teleprompter. Because every time he opens his mouth and says what is on his mind and in his heart, he exposes himself to the real world as the extremist he is.

Obama concedes remarks were ill chosen

AP - 42 minutes ago

AP - Democrat Barack Obama on Saturday conceded that comments he made about bitter working class voters who "cling to guns or religion" were ill chosen, as he tried to stem a burst of complaints that he is condescending.

http://news.yahoo.com/elections/

This would be where Obama has his picture taken with 20 or 30 flags.

“Vote For Me, You Corncob-Smokin’, Banjo-Strokin’ Chicken-Chokin’ Cousin-Pokin’ Inbred Hillbilly Racist Morons.” Barack Obama

[TexasTiger 13,136]

A voice of reason from the "Christian Right."

Obama's "Bitter" Comment

April 12, 2008

Maybe it's just me, but it seems that people may be making too much of Obama''s "controversial" comments that came out Friday about small town America. ...

Look, could Obama have said the whole thing better? Sure. The "cling" word as it relates to religion makes it seem that these people are needy in some way. "Cling" is not the best word to use.

The word "bitter" wasn't the best choice in the context he used it in but he was trying to make a broader point. I guess those are the pitfalls of being really smart.

But to say that these comments are "elitist" or are "demeaning" seems to be a big time stretch. It's hard to paint Obama as an "elitist" while at the same time he's described as hip, cool and relates to the younger generation. That makes no sense.

Maybe he could lay off the Grey Poupon and go with the French's mustard but give the guy a break.

Here's the best Hillary can hope for from this. She can try and make the case to the super delegates that comments like this show that Obama is "green" and "inexperienced" and who knows what he will say when he's on the World stage as President. I'm not saying it's an argument that will work but these comments give her some amunition. A few weeks back he also said how he wouldn't want his daughters "punished" with a baby. She can try and argue that this is a trend.

Still, I know Obama is getting blasted for these comments but to me this seems like a case of piling on. We talk alot in Christian circles about giving people "grace" but in politics those same rules don't apply.

http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/356191.aspx

[Tigermike 3,078]

You'll see what you want in those remarks. (It is obvious that you will jump through hoops to spin his words differently than he actually said them. It also appears you will start tap dancing to the same tune rr has been humming for months.) Interesting how you are echoing Hillary's current talkingpoints, though. (Not just Hillary's talking points. What makes this funny is that the story was exposed by an article on Huffington Post.)

But, no, TigerMike and Hillary, I don't see elitism in those remarks. I see some measure of understanding and empathy. (Understanding and empathy? Give me a friging break. He has absolutely no clue. None what so ever.)

There is anti-trade sentiment (Would that be the anti-trade sentiment being demagogued by the dems? The same dems who torpedoed the Columbian free trade agreement? By suspending the rules of order in congress? Would that be the same anit-trade sentiment that Obama has been demagoguing to pander to the unions? The same NAFTA that he has been ranting about but had one of his advisors tell the Canadian ambassador he was just appeasing the rubes?) and anti-immigrant sentiment in much of the country, (There is very little anti immigrant sentiment in the country. But there is a hell of a lot of sentiment to stop the illegal invasion. That would be the illegal invasion the dems really don't want to do anything about, since they will be trolling for new voters.) and in particular in the rustbelt where they have seen their quality of life diminish with little evidence of much better on the horizon. And Republicans have spent decades now scaring folks that the Dems are going to take their guns (have the dems been leading the vanguard for gun control?) while they supported policies that took their jobs. The larger context from which you took your quote shows Obama arguing against those who claim folks oppose him because of his race: (I have been wondering how long before we were all branded racist because we don't intend to vote for Obama.)

He wasn't talking about Southerners at all. He was talking about folks in the industrial midwest, which is where he has lived and worked for years. (Earth to Tex, Obama is running for President of the United States!!!! It does not matter where he is or who specifically he is talking to, his comments and his acitons will affect the entire nation.)

The identical crap spewed from HRC and McCain just shows how much both of them engage in the same old political bullsh*t of distorting and labeling, even when someone speaks the truth. (There is NO distortion, Obama said it. He meant it. Now it is up to his legion of shills to spin it differently. I guess Michelle is happy now.)

Here are a few bumper stickers for your enjoyment.

[TexasTiger 13,136]

Would that be the anti-trade sentiment being demagogued by the dems? The same dems who torpedoed the Columbian free trade agreement?

Yep, that's the one.

[Auburn85 434]

i love the "got too much money? elect a democrat"

[TexasTiger 13,136]

WARNING!

Not a meaningless soundbite!

Obama spoke on this same issue four years ago. For those few who may be interested in truly understanding his point:

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/188674.php

[RunInRed 16,528]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sc9PepjyDow

[Tigermike 3,078]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sc9PepjyDow

I am so glad you put that up. Let's take a good, close, honest look. Shall we?

What a difference the audience makes! Obama's original remarks are what he really thinks, told to an audience he could be sure thought the same way. With a different, more skeptical audience, his rhetoric morphs into more acceptable and slicker language designed to make his his original points more palatable.

Why Orwell Matters

[Victor Davis Hanson]

Here is what Sen. Obama said:

"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...And they fell through the Clinton Administration, and the Bush Administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not. 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."

Here is what Sen. Obama now says he said:

"So I said, 'Well, you know, when you're bitter you turn to what you can count on,' " he continued. "So people they vote about guns, or they take comfort from their faith and their family and their community. And they get mad about illegal immigrants who are coming over to this country or they get frustrated about, you know, how things are changing. That's a natural response."

1. Note how version #1's "cling" becomes version #2's "vote about" and "take comfort from"—as the condescending dismissal becomes empathetic understanding.

2. Note how version #1's "religion" and "antipathy to people who aren't like them" becomes version #2's "faith" and "their family and community" —as fundamentalist xenophobes now become beleaguered folks who band together against the unfairness.

3 Note how version #1's "anti-immigrant" becomes version #2's "mad about illegal immigrants" —as the nativist who opposes all immigrants, legal and illegal, now becomes understandably angry only about those coming here illegally.

4. Note how version #1's "as a way to explain their frustrations" becomes version #2's "they get frustrated about" as the misguided scape-goaters become those who react understandably to adversity.

5. Note no explanation in version #2 for version #1's "anti-trade sentiment"—and no wonder since Obama himself is embarrassed that so far he's voiced far more "anti-trade sentiment" than those he caricatured.

6. Note how version #1's "And it's not surprising then they get bitter" becomes version #2's "your'e" and "you" and "Thats a natural response", as the condescending use of the embittered and distant "they" now morphs into a kindred "you" and the quip "not surprising" becomes the sympathetic "natural."

7. Note how version #1's idiotic logic that Middle-America has only become religious or pro-gun in the last 25 years as a result of job loss is simply omitted.

8. Note how there is sudddenly no "context" for the landscape of version #1: an elite Bay-area audience that is told stories about those Pennsylvanian gun-toting zealots.

With Obama, the clarifications (cf. the Wright and Michelle contextualizations) are always more interestig than the original lapse.

link

[arnaldoabru 11]

What did he say that was so wrong.It is what the Republicans have known far years.

We'll just scare em to death with guns,queers,blacks,burning flags and taking jesus out of christmas