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I'm Bitter as Hell (and I'm Not Going to Take it Anymore)
Surely you've heard of the latest create-a-scandal brewed up by Hillary Clinton. This is a science metaphor, BTW, not a witch metaphor; I have many pagan friends and would not insult witches like that. The same create-a-scandal jumped on by John McCain, because really, when's the last time HE had an original thought?
I'm not saying he never has. But it hasn't happened since he started cuddling up with the religious right and the Bush administration.
But I digress. The create-a-scandal is this: Barack Obama referred to the rural Pennsylvanians "bitterness" about the state of our country as one reason why they might be wary of his campaign.
OMG--can you believe it? He called them bitter! How condescending, said Clinton and McCain. How racist!
But I agree with Obama's usual quick-and-concise comeback by saying: How undeniably true.
Clinton and McCain claim this is an example of Obama's being "out of touch" with the American voter, whom they apparently see as living some kind of idyllic, Leave-it-to-Beaver life... when they aren't imagining some kind of Waltons-during-the-depression happy through it all idealism.
But, to quote an earlier McCain gaffe? "I've got news" for them.
AMERICANS ARE BITTER. And not just in rural, central American states. We've been increasingly bitter for a long time. I was a kid during the Vietnam and Watergate years, and since then I've known very few people who believed politicians could do or change anything, myself included. The Reagan years seemed cool, until we started learning about the stuff that had gone on in the background (Iran Contra, huge deficit). The Bill Clinton years weren't bad--I mean, the scandals were a horrible distraction, but the blame for those lies with the witch hunters as well as President Clinton (notice I did not call him blameless). Did it really matter whom we voted in, some of us wondered? It's not like it mattered.
And then we have the W years. And it mattered.
Veterans used, as commented on Countdown, like disposable plastic gloves. The USA occupying another country despite their stated wishes to have us gone and the fact that we've displaced millions of their civilians and haven't even taken in 5 thousand of those refugees (you want to talk "break it, bought it?") American servicemen who joined to fight in Afghanistan deliberately sent instead to Iraq, which had NOT attacked us. Trillions of dollars in deficit. Our constitution spat upon by our own leaders.
Damn right, we're bitter. We should all be bitter. But bitter need not mean petulant and lethargic. Bitter can mean righteous anger and ACTION... and that's a large chunk of what Obama has tapped into. Not for all Democrats, certainly--I'm not arguing that. But for record numbers of formerly inactive, disillusioned people, absolutely this is what Obama rouses within us. The hope to create change, because we know things MUST change, because we are bitter.
Bitter. Not helpless.
Tonight, I am bitter that instead of focusing on real issues, Clinton and McCain tried to create some sort of "Oh my god, did you hear what he called you???" schoolyard scandal.
But I am hopeful that enough Americans will resonate to the truth of Obama's words to see through their petty, old-school politics and give up on them.
It's long past their time.
Comments (63)
[throws TV set out the window]
I'm fed up as hell....and most definitely recommending!
April 12, 2008 1:09 AM | Reply | Permalink
Thanks, LisB. I hope it was your old analog TV that went out the imaginary window. At least we get to be fed up together, here on TPM.
April 12, 2008 1:17 AM | Reply | Permalink
My old analog TV?
[looks at empty TV stand]
Oops.
April 12, 2008 1:26 AM | Reply | Permalink
Holy crap, we had the same idea!
Sorry Yvonne, I just posted my blog without reading yours first!
April 12, 2008 1:36 AM | Reply | Permalink
Yvonne and Sean, both of you have good posts. Thanks to both of you.
Actually, the recent and recommended reader posts lists have quite a few on this subject with similar themes. I take it as a good sign that so many people are seeing how ridiculous McCain's and Clinton's point-scoring efforts are.
April 12, 2008 2:11 AM | Reply | Permalink
When I first heard about Obama's earlier comments, my initial reaction was that he had it exactly right. After watching his response in Indiana to the piling on by Clinton/McCain, etc. -- or better yet, after watching the response of the people to whom he was speaking -- I am thinking that maybe he can turn this thing into another WIN like he did the Wright issue. This may be the way he gets to the hearts of the blue-collar workers in the rust best. They are angry and he GETS IT.
April 12, 2008 2:10 AM | Reply | Permalink
He won it all tonight with his response!
April 12, 2008 7:47 AM | Reply | Permalink
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3o6h-fVXFE
Here's Cafferty's response at MINUTE 6:20. He's mad as hell, and he tells it like it is...
"the jerks in Washington DC as represented by the tenures of the Bushes and the Clintons and the McCains who have lied to the people all these years.... They are to blame for their jobs moving overseas."
April 12, 2008 2:11 AM | Reply | Permalink
No worries, SCMadden -- like laurajordan, I'm glad to see all the posts along the same theme. We were all just so outraged, and excited, we were too busy writing to check to see if anyone else was writing the same thing. I enjoyed your posts and the others, as well.
And hey--this was my first blogging entry for TPM, and one of my first blogs ever. I'm quite proud! One more thing I owe to Obama....
April 12, 2008 3:29 AM | Reply | Permalink
LisB,
You crack me up! I've threaten to throw my television out the window anytime the current pResident of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue appeared on the screen.
April 12, 2008 4:35 AM | Reply | Permalink
anytime the current pResident of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue appeared on the screen.
I implore you, stay your hand!
Wait until he walks under your window...
April 12, 2008 4:31 PM | Reply | Permalink
I agree completely...!
Obama Complete Response: http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/samgrahamfelsen/gGBWx9
When I hear people say “...threatening, empty suit, no ideas, or change what...!?!? I go ballistic, either they 're not listening or your incapable of understanding.
Mr. Obama is the real deal, he has advisers not handlers, he is the smartest guy in the running and...our only hope of transcending our countries recent decline to something truly awe inspiring, we can change the world...!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4G8dRMofHNs
You can tell which one is a president and which two are politicians.
Wow....the blowback to come is going to be a bitch Ms. Hillary.
Obama just KO'd Ms. Hillary and McCain with one mighty breath.
This man never ceases to amaze me.
April 12, 2008 7:12 AM | Reply | Permalink
But it's OK to insult us scientists?
April 12, 2008 8:19 AM | Reply | Permalink
Insulting scientists is, in fact, the foundation of Western culture. Get used to it, you emotionally stunted planet-wrecker. What have you guys ever done for us, other than issue ineffectual warnings about the occasional mutant insect? Get some goddam media savvy! What good does it do to tell people that giant radioactive ants are coming to eat Cleveland if you can't comb your hair, speak clearly, and focus both eyes on the camera at the same time?
April 12, 2008 8:35 AM | Reply | Permalink
HD-TV
April 12, 2008 8:52 AM | Reply | Permalink
Obama has real guts to stick with his guns during these fabricated attacks.
He might just end up being the very best president the United States has ever seen.
Yes We Can!
April 12, 2008 8:19 AM | Reply | Permalink
Wow, more completely-out-of-touch Obamamaniacs here...
um, you forgot this part of his speech, and as a MIDWESTERNER, the surreptitiously racist stereotyping is unforgettable:
". . . antipathy to PEOPLE WHO AREN'T LIKE THEM" and the meaning is understatedly clear. This isn't going away, and it's time to throw in the towel.
April 12, 2008 8:22 AM | Reply | Permalink
If you actually put that in context, you'll find that the meaning actually is quite clear, but it's not what you seem to think it is.
April 12, 2008 8:25 AM | Reply | Permalink
I would throw in the towel, but I already threw it under the bus. Now it needs to soak for a while -- in the tank.
April 12, 2008 8:40 AM | Reply | Permalink
do you go to church because you are bitter?
if you own a gun, if you hunt, if you like to shoot skeet, if you have a licensed gun for home protection and you are not mentally deranged or guilty of any felonies, are you bitter?
the ability of the obama folks to be unable to look beyond the end of their collective noses is becoming rather embarrasing
this foolish characterization of gun owners and church goers as bitter...words do matter and your spin of them notwithstanding, you do not understand the ammunition you are providing the the gop hate machine, you poor naifs
April 12, 2008 8:47 AM | Reply | Permalink
Who said anything about church or skeet shooting? Obama, as you anti-Obama people never cease to remind us, is a church goer. (Oops, wrong color church.)
You can't just make things up about what Obama said. Well, I guess you can and did, but it doesn't help your case.
April 12, 2008 9:00 AM | Reply | Permalink
There you go with the race thing again. Can you not make a post without pushing race into this conversation? I think it pretty much shows where you think all your arguments begin and end. If that is the only reason you support Mr. Obama then your a pretty shallow fella.
April 12, 2008 2:05 PM | Reply | Permalink
Are you saying that you understand the black church? Or that the majority of Americans understand what goes on in black churches across the country?
If you did, you would only have good things to say about Rev. Wright.
If not, then the point above is valid.
April 12, 2008 4:44 PM | Reply | Permalink
Many bitter people do turn to guns and go on shooting sprees. Some people -- who are not deranged but extremely frustrated -- go to their FORMER places of employment and blow their FORMER bosses' brains out. It happens several times a year.
Guess you haven't heard about them cases though.
Guess it's not in your conservative newspaper.
How convenient, Jerkflag.
April 12, 2008 9:10 AM | Reply | Permalink
Plus I would also tie-in school shootings to the bitterness that Obama is talking about. I believe that a lot of young people are smarter than they're given credit for. And they sense most palpably that America has no future for them. Why? Because their parents are struggling. Because jobs are disappearing and there's a lot of angst. Because they see homeless people. Because they know intuitively that things just aren't right. So they get frustrated and bitter, and take it out in the wrong ways. Some may turn to booze, or meth/crack addiction. Others to collecting guns. Others to video game fantasies. It's a toxic and potentially combustible mix. Bitterness is real, my friend.
Now "liar liar, pantsuit on fire" may not acknowledge it.
John McCaveman may not.
But they are both multimillionaires, with no worries.
The people, however, know what time it is.
Obama is speaking the truth
April 12, 2008 9:21 AM | Reply | Permalink
I am really appalled to realize that people really take out of context what someone says. Roland Martin says it all the time. He wanted to see the entire transcript, but that woman that filled in for Lou Dobbs had the audacity to say she did have the entire transcript and only kept playing that small excerpt.
I feel that Obama speaks to us as adults and hopefully people can take the bare truth of what he says and stop twisting his words! God Bless the Obama campaign. He stands for truth and transparency
April 12, 2008 10:06 AM | Reply | Permalink
Sorry folks!
If you cannot admit this was a gaff then you are clearly out of touch with most working class Americans.
People make mistakes.
Obama made one with those comments.
And I, personally am offended!
I work with the poor . I am a Social Worker. They come to me When they have no Insurance and need an operation. Many of these people are deeply Religious. They do NOT "cling" to Religion out of "bitterness!" Some hunt to help feed their families!
They are poor and desperate but many have better attitudes than I witness in this forum!
April 12, 2008 10:40 AM | Reply | Permalink
You're clinging pretty hard to the original out-of-context statement.
Did you see the latest from Obama on the theme? Watch it.
April 12, 2008 4:35 PM | Reply | Permalink
Cue Howard..They're yelling in Baton Rouge
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4665827135049266825&q=howard+beale&total=93&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=4
April 12, 2008 10:44 AM | Reply | Permalink
jerkflag..that was funny. yes, people do kill people with guns, its undeniable. but people also own guns who are just normal citizens. i do not have a gun in my home, but i am not ignorant of american culture either, and this blather about guns and bigots will drive the middle class whites away from you in a skinny minute
he said it...there is no spin...bitterness leads them to guns and churches...all the spin in the world will not change that simple, immutable fact. but, please obamakin kids deny deny deny
April 12, 2008 11:10 AM | Reply | Permalink
Of course the real information lies in Obama saying "these people" turned to "religion" because they are bitter an aspirtion on their character or to his reference to the fact that they won't vote for people who are different from themselves which is just a clever way of calling them racist. But of course it is ok for Obama to call them racist because he is the great Obama. It is ok for black people to vote for him because he is black just like them but white people voting for Hillary because she is white is somehow not ok. Double standard. How many ways do I have to say it.
April 12, 2008 11:22 AM | Reply | Permalink
White people (and all others) should vote for Obama because he respects them enough to speak the truth.
Black people, on the other hand (and all others) should not vote for Hillary because she's a got damn liar.
April 12, 2008 11:27 AM | Reply | Permalink
Which chapter of The Aryan Nation do you belong to!
April 12, 2008 12:22 PM | Reply | Permalink
Typical Obamaista response. When you can't argue the facts....call names to your enemy.
April 12, 2008 12:37 PM | Reply | Permalink
Louis, you're such a freakin' hypocrite! Calling people names in a post criticizing them for name-calling. But I'm not afraid to call a spade a spade, again, you are such a freakin' hypocrite!
April 12, 2008 12:46 PM | Reply | Permalink
Again, another typcial Obamaista response. Get the minions to drop in on the conversation and call names and belittle. If if makes you feel better Opus....then its ok carry on little buddy.
April 12, 2008 12:58 PM | Reply | Permalink
"It is ok for black people to vote for him because he is black just like them but white people voting for Hillary because she is white is somehow not ok. Double standard."
You're agreeing with this, Louisville?
Are there people voting for Hillary because she's white? And is that ok?
Are you comfortable with blackflag's line of thinking?
April 12, 2008 4:43 PM | Reply | Permalink
You are using words that Obama didn't use. I burn your straw man:
"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."
April 12, 2008 12:44 PM | Reply | Permalink
There's this thing I do that drives my wife crazy. I'll respond to arguments on how we whites are victims by yelling in a comically southern accent, "WHO'S GONNA STAND UP FER TH' WHAAAITE MAAAAN!?!?!"
I tell ya what: the Democratic Party hasn't been the same since David Duke left it.
April 12, 2008 4:39 PM | Reply | Permalink
Boy, I guess I'm out of touch with my fellow Obamanoids on this one. I seems to me that this was a big gaffe. Luckily, it seems as if Hillary has picked up mostly on Obama's describing Americans as bitter, and he was able to make a great rejoinder to that.
But the real problem is the tone of condescension. I don't personally hunt, but I think if I did, and someone told me I liked my guns because I was bitter about something, it would irritate the hell out of me; I would probably truly believe that I liked hunting because I found it enjoyable. Same thing if they told me I was using my religion to escape the bitter reality of life. When I try to put myself in the shoes of someone in, say, central Pennsylvania, I feel really insulted and patronized.
Perhaps this bothers me more than it should, because one of the things I like most about Obama is his ability to see things from a variety of viewpoints, and to show respect for those who think differently from him. This was one of the very few times when I think he really failed to do that. (And it does demonstrate a kind of Ivy League elitism, which I'm afraid many in this very blog are unable to see.)
Won't change my vote, of course, because I view it as an aberration. And I hope it won't hurt him in Pa, although I fear it will. But I still think he seriously misspoke, and that ought to be acknowledged.
April 12, 2008 12:38 PM | Reply | Permalink
His comments about Guns/Religion etc etc.....will not go well in rural areas of the country. But if he was to be the nominee its just another major political gaffe. If this is about winning the GE, which I hope it is, then its just another real reason why he can't be the nominee.
April 12, 2008 12:56 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yes, pointing out that rural folks cling to their traditional values in the face of adversity will certainly cause much consternation on the part of rural folks. "Hey, he spoke the truth! That makes me feel so angry that someone understands my pain." Yeah, right, keeping dreaming, Louis.
April 12, 2008 1:55 PM | Reply | Permalink
Honestly, Louisville, I can't make out what you're saying here, and I'd like to. (Particularly the "which I hope it is;" what are you referring to?)
As far as "he can't be the nominee." Well. The truth is, any one of us could explain why each of the three remaining candidates is absolutely unelectable. Far as I can tell, Obama has made fewer mistakes than anyone else, is still our best candidate, and has an excellent chance of beating McCain in the general.
I think this statement was a mistake, but not anywhere near bad enough to sink the campaign. Furthermore, evidently a lot of people - and not just here at TPM - don't even think this was a mistake at all. You'll have to find another reason why he can't be the nominee.
April 12, 2008 4:34 PM | Reply | Permalink
Clearly Obama did not mean all people. Wake Up!
Are you children?
April 12, 2008 1:12 PM | Reply | Permalink
Super Happy Obama Fun Time Videos:
http://redstate.com/stories/archived/super_happy_obama_fun_time_videos
April 12, 2008 1:36 PM | Reply | Permalink
All this Right Wing Arse Troll does is spam the same archived Red State crap. He is probably doing it from within an Aryan Nation Compound.
April 12, 2008 2:09 PM | Reply | Permalink
What have the Republicans used in the last two Presidential elections to win the economically depressed rural and small town votes. They have used God, Guns, and Gays, That is how they conned a lot of those voters into voting against their own economic self interests. So while they were duped into being afraid of Gays, and that someone would take away their hunting rifles, all bullshit, the Republican Robber Barons were free to steal them blind, ship their jobs out to near slave labor nations, and bleed the nation and the middle class to death.
Senator Obama speaks the truth. If the voters, who have been conned into letting the the Republican Robber Barons, and the NAFTA and Columbia Trade enabling Clintons steal them blind, do not accept the truth of what has put them in their current desperate plight, then so be it, but at least they will not be in a position to complain that they had not been told the truth by Senator Obama.
If they can not handle the truth, then Hillary and McCain will tell them all the lies that they can swallow, while they fall further and further into a great economic depression.
God, Guns, and Gays, will not make Their Grapes of Wrath taste sweet.
April 12, 2008 2:07 PM | Reply | Permalink
Liam, your post encapsulates the whole, entire problem with what Obama said. The way the Repubs "conned a lot of those voters into voting against their own economic self interests" is, in large part, by showing them respect. Telling them that their own feelings - whether about guns, religion, gays, immigration, whatever - are merely symptoms of something (bitterness, stupidity, bad genes, whatever) is *not* the way to show respect. This not about endorsing their views, but it's about not talking to them, or about them, as if they're just a bunch of clueless yahoos.
As I said in my earlier comment, I hope this thing blows over and Obama is none the worse for it. But I can't see how it helps to say that, yes, he was right, those gun-owning, church-going, middle Americans really are too stupid to see their own self-interest. You wouldn't stand for someone talking about you like that, and there's no reason they will either.
April 12, 2008 4:19 PM | Reply | Permalink
Great post Liam.
April 12, 2008 2:33 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'm sticking with what I predicted last night:
Obama just won the election.
I think he needs to explain his comments about guns and religion a little better, as Liam explain plainly what he meant.
However, unlike most people seem to think, I don't think most Americans are stupid. I think most Americans HATE being lied to.
And whether they agree with Obama or not, he's not there throwing out bullshit. He's telling people what he thinks. And people respect that.
April 12, 2008 3:12 PM | Reply | Permalink
While Hillary spews bunk from her bunker.
April 12, 2008 3:29 PM | Reply | Permalink
My deepest apologies, Ben. I'm going to take a page out of Obama's book and immediately admit I made a mistake and become better for it. I should have said mad, pseudo-scientists, as opposed to the noble breed of intellectuals like yourself who are working to better the world.
April 12, 2008 4:22 PM | Reply | Permalink
"But the real problem is the tone of condescension. I don't personally hunt, but I think if I did, and someone told me I liked my guns because I was bitter about something, it would irritate the hell out of me; I would probably truly believe that I liked hunting because I found it enjoyable. Same thing if they told me I was using my religion to escape the bitter reality of life. When I try to put myself in the shoes of someone in, say, central Pennsylvania, I feel really insulted and patronized."
Note that Obama didn't say that people use religion as a means of escape. He said that people cling to guns, religion, anti-immigrant sentiment, etc. "AS A WAY TO EXPLAIN THEIR FRUSTRATIONS."
And people do this. I'm assuming you've read "What's the Matter With Kansas?", no? Guns, gays, and God is straight out of the Rove playbook. That seems to be to be all that BHO said. Now, what he *did* do was say it in a manner that departed from his usual eloquence, and thus allowed it to be twisted around.
April 12, 2008 4:27 PM | Reply | Permalink
"He said that people cling to guns, religion, anti-immigrant sentiment, etc. 'AS A WAY TO EXPLAIN THEIR FRUSTRATIONS.'"
And you don't see how that's condescending? I don't think people see themselves as "clinging" to anything. They think they're actually making choices freely for their own, personal reasons.
The perception of condescension has really hurt Democratic presidential candidates in the recent past. I do believe much of the country is hyper-sensitive to insults from elites, so a little bit of condescension goes a long way. McCain is going to work very hard, but very quietly, in the general to make this an "issue" against Obama. I just wish Democrats were more sensitive to it. (I think Obama is, even though he slipped up this one time.)
April 12, 2008 4:53 PM | Reply | Permalink
Unfortunately for Hill and John, they won't be able to successfully paint themselves as more understanding of the issues of middle America, because they have no idea what people actually feel, and are much more disconnected from those people's ways of life.
They'll try to tell them how they should feel, but they will fail.
April 12, 2008 5:03 PM | Reply | Permalink
Wow--my first blog entry even attracted trolls. I'm a REAL girl now :-)
1) Obama didn't accuse anyone of being racist.
2) Obama actually supports the 2nd amendment and the right to own guns--surprising for a liberal, perhaps, but it goes against anyone's "criticizing gun owners" point.
3) Obama also goes to church religiously (so to speak), as anyone who noticed that little Rev. Wright scandal should know, which goes against anyone's "criticizing the religious" point.
Would it be nicer if he'd said "focus on" instead of "clinging to?" Sure. Would it be better if he said "people they perceive as different?" Sure. But to expect someone speaking extemporaneously to never choose a less-than-perfect word is ridiculous. It's an incident, not a pattern.
I've got to think that a majority of Americans--expecially practical midwesterners--will see that. The only people jumping on this are the ones who were looking for reasons to hate Obama in the first place, whatever their reasons for that hatred, which I couldn't begin to grasp.
April 12, 2008 4:30 PM | Reply | Permalink
Elementary , my dear Sam!
Very true and well put!
April 12, 2008 4:57 PM | Reply | Permalink
Have you noticed how Hillary adapts Obama's slogans in her speeches?
April 12, 2008 5:32 PM | Reply | Permalink
Wait. The Clintons can say Obama’s experience is a “fairy tale” or compare LBJ to MLK or Cuomo, not even talking about Obama, can use the phrase "shuck and jive" and that is race politics, but Obama can basically say it’s hard for a 46 y.o. black man to get the vote of poor rural whites who cling to God, guns, and their own “group” out of bitterness, and it is just honesty? Sure. He didn’t use the words- “red-neck white-trash hicks” but some will spin it as if he did. And this is a political home run for Obama? One day sociologists will unearth these blogs, breathlessly unpacking this treasure trove of evidence for human rationalization and delusion.
April 12, 2008 5:39 PM | Reply | Permalink
So that is why you posted, is it; you want some attention after you are dead. You just listed what he did not say, and you then rationalized that because some will mistakenly see it that way, those who do not are going to make future sociologists run out of breath.
Congratulations on you self fulfilling prophesy; you just gave them something that will take their breath away.
April 12, 2008 5:54 PM | Reply | Permalink
Ah, one more for the time capsule:) No, Liam. I listed what he did say, which was elitist (displaying a little class arrogance for SF fundraisers) and, in part, race politics. To be exact, he said:
“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.[…]
{when they hear a pitch} by a 46-year-old black man named Barack Obama (laugher), then that adds another layer of skepticism (laughter).[…]
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.”
What he is saying is “no, it’s not really about race, it’s just that those poor white country voters are anti-immigrant, xenophobic and against those outside their group (IOW, racist). What I said others (as in GOP) would do is paint him as an elitist black radical but that was just a response to Yvonne’s “Sure. If he used other words…” nothing else. I have no delusions that I can ever convince you that Obama does make gaffes, does triangulate, does play politricks with the best of them, etc. I had not even heard about this until earlier today. When I saw the flurry of posts and comments and glowing accolades to Obama (He won, hit it out of the park, set a brilliant trap), I had to at least throw a bone to reality.
April 12, 2008 7:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
If you know Obama, if you know his words, you know this was not a slam against anyone.
In his speech "call to renewal" he noted how republicans and democrats see things differently:
"Conservative leaders have been all too happy to exploit this gap, consistently reminding evangelical Christians that Democrats disrespect their values and dislike their Church, while suggesting to the rest of the country that religious Americans care only about issues like abortion and gay marriage; school prayer and intelligent design.
Democrats, for the most part, have taken the bait. At best, we may try to avoid the conversation about religious values altogether, fearful of offending anyone and claiming that - regardless of our personal beliefs - constitutional principles tie our hands. At worst, there are some liberals who dismiss religion in the public square as inherently irrational or intolerant, insisting on a caricature of religious Americans that paints them as fanatical, or thinking that the very word "Christian" describes one's political opponents, not people of faith."
http://obama.senate.gov/speech/060628-call_to_renewal/index.php
This shows how easily all of us can get caught up in tiny microcosms of issues to show our frustration. So lets say you are frustrated with the government as a whole, but you are a hunter taught from your father. So naturally you become a card carrying member of NRA causes because that is how you choose to vent your frustration.
There are many scenarios like that. Obama is trying to show a bigger picture. We all have our own branches of personal frustration. Obama is trying to point out the whole tree.
April 12, 2008 10:48 PM | Reply | Permalink
Check this out and feel good about small towns.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eDkAG3R0h8
Obama 09
April 12, 2008 11:36 PM | Reply | Permalink
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