UPDATE: Obama's Big Bad Boo-Boo
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Why doesn't Barack Obama connect with some Americans?
There's a transcript and there's an audio tape that tells you.
At a fund-raiser in San Francisco last Sunday, Barack Obama spoke volumes about how he views Americans.
Transcript
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.
This is condescending, offensive, liberal babble. He claims Americans' values are born of bitterness rather than principles.
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- In the midst of an assault from his rivals, a defensive Barack Obama said Friday that many working-class Americans are angry and bitter over economic inequalities and have lost faith in Washington — and, as a result, vote on the basis of other issues such as gun protections or gay marriage.
The Illinois senator's analysis of what motivates working-class voters came after chief rival Hillary Rodham Clinton accused him of looking down on such voters. Clinton rebuked Obama on Friday for similar remarks he made privately last Sunday to a group of donors in San Francisco.
"People don't vote on economic issues because they don't expect anybody is going to help them," Obama told a crowd at a Terre Haute, Ind., high school Friday evening. "So people end up voting on issues like guns and are they going to have the right to bear arms. They vote on issues like gay marriage. They take refuge in their faith and their community, and their family, and the things they can count on. But they don't believe they can count on Washington."
The Huffington Post Web site reported Friday that Obama, speaking of some Pennsylvanians' economic anxieties, told supporters at the San Francisco fundraiser: "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 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."
In Terre Haute, Obama said he did describe some voters as bitter when a donor asked why working-class voters in Pennsylvania were not getting behind his campaign.
"Well, that's not my experience," Clinton told a Drexel University crowd, describing the state's residents as resilient, optimistic and hardworking.
"Pennsylvanians don't need a president who looks down on them," she said. "They need a president who stands up for them."
Steve Schmidt, a spokesman for Republican candidate John McCain, described Obama's comments as "condescending" and "out of touch."
...In Terre Haute, Obama chided McCain for not responding promptly to the home mortgage crisis and criticized Clinton for voting for a bankruptcy bill supported by credit card companies.
"No, I'm IN touch," he said. "I know exactly what's going on. People are fed up, they are angry, they're frustrated and they're bitter. And they want to see a change in Washington."
Clinton spokesman Phil Singer said Friday night, "Instead of apologizing for offending small-town America, Senator Obama chose to repeat and embrace the comments he made earlier this week."
Tucker Bounds, a spokesman for McCain, said Friday: "Only an elitist would say that people vote their values only out of frustration. ... You can't be more out of touch than that."
Obama has really stepped in it this time. Last Sunday, he belittled people clinging to faith and caring about our freedom and rights. Friday night, he spins what he referred to as bitterness into taking "refuge in their faith and their community, and their family, and the things they can count on."
I'm sure some will buy Obama's explanation because they have bought into the promises of Obama so completely. I don't buy his CYA moves.
It's true. I am angry and frustrated.
I'm angry that Obama would dare to bash Americans and their deeply held beliefs as an outgrowth of anti-government sentiment.
I'm frustrated that the media have anointed Obama as the savior of the country, this arrogant man.
I'm truly disgusted by Obama's view of the American people: "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."
This is such a load. How dare he say that Americans exercising their freedoms are exercises in bitterness!
I do cling to my religion. However, I don't cling to my faith because I feel let down by the government. I cling to it in times of joy and sorrow because I believe!
Obama could not be more wrong when he cites religion as Americans' "way to explain their frustrations." That's such typical liberal elitist tripe!
I have a problem with ILLEGAL immigrants coming into the country and burdening the taxpayers and crushing our social institutions under their weight. That's not rooted in some sort of bitterness about lost jobs. It's rooted in a desire to have immigrants respect and uphold our laws and enter our country LEGALLY. It's rooted in a desire to secure our borders, keeping criminals and terrorists out.
So Obama is caught on tape making these horrible remarks, and what does he do?
He spins. He does damage control, full speed ahead. He doesn't back down. Americans are angry. They want change and Obama promises to deliver because he knows "exactly what's going on."
NO. Obama doesn't know exactly what's going on. He's clueless.
He's been exposed. He's a sham. He's selling snake oil.
Obama doesn't get it. He's no uniter. He exploits people for his personal political gain. He's reduced Americans to a series of talking points. Obama is politics as usual. He's no agent of change. He's no savior. He's a false prophet.
He's a liberal, elitist snob. Obama is out of touch.
Obama doesn't respect me.
Obama doesn't understand me.
Obama doesn't speak to me.
Obama doesn't speak for me.
Obama doesn't know me or the Americans I know.
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