Obama on small-town voters: Bitter, xenophobic, religious; Update: McCain camp unloads; Update: People “don’t need a president who looks down on them,” says Hillary; Update: Audio added; Update: Obama camp responds — weakly
posted at 4:44 pm on April 11, 2008 by Allahpundit
Send to a Friend |
printer-friendly
An outrageous Kinsleyan gaffe? Sure. But give it a day or so, to let the Jedi mind trick work its magic. Then the left will tell us what he “really meant”:
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.
What’s most offensive? The condescension displayed here by the intelligentsia’s candidate of choice? The sheer breadth of the stereotype, which would send Team Obama screaming from the rooftops if a white politician drew a similarly sweeping caricature of blacks? The crude quasi-Marxist reductionism of his analysis, which he first introduced in his speech on race vis-a-vis the root causes of whites’ “resentment” — namely, exploitation by the bourgeoisie in the form of corporations and D.C. lobbyists? Or is it the shocking inclusion of religion, of all things, in the litany of sins he recites? What on earth is that doing there, given His Holiness’s repeated invocations of the virtues of faith on the trail? Note the choice of verb, too. Why not just go the whole nine yards and call it the opiate of the masses?
If you missed the Standard’s post a few weeks ago on the various complaints about “distractions” that creep into Obama’s rhetoric, read it now. This is of a piece with it. Everything in the Obama universe, including gun rights evidently, that doesn’t fit his agenda is a byproduct of external forces conspiring to manipulate the masses to keep his agenda at bay. Exit question: How does Hillary leverage this? Does she dare get the video and stick it in an ad?
Update: She’s not going to get a video ad out of it. It wasn’t delivered as part of a speech; how could it have been, given the obnoxiousness of the rhetoric? He said it to a bunch of megarich donors in San Francisco last week. This is how he talks to the liberal elite.
Update: The best part of this story? It’s HuffPo, of all sites, that broke it. His disciples can’t even claim bias in the reporting.
Update: Here we go. Your move, Hillary.
Asked to respond, McCain adviser Steve Schmidt called it a “remarkable statement and extremely revealing.”
“It shows an elitism and condescension towards hardworking Americans that is nothing short of breathtaking,” Schmidt said. “It is hard to imagine someone running for president who is more out of touch with average Americans.”
Follow the link for Jonathan Martin’s assertion that Republicans are itching to “play the elitism card” against Obama, which is journo-speak for “itching to show the public just how elitist Obama is in reality.”
Update: Score. Go for the throat, shameless liar!
“It’s being reported that my opponent said that the people of Pennsylvania who face hard times are bitter,” Clinton said during a campaign event in Philadelphia. “Well that’s not my experience. As I travel around Pennsylvania. I meet people who are resilient, optimist positive who are rolling up their sleeves.”
“Pennsylvanians don’t need a president who looks down on them,” she said. “They need a president who stands up for them, who fights hard for your future, your jobs, your families.”
Update: An intriguing quote from KP:
“It comes off very badly,” Democratic strategist Kirsten Powers said of the small-town America remarks. “They are things that I think in a liberal world sound totally normal, and outside of that world I don’t know that he appreciates how it sounds. And it just sounds very elitist, and it sounds like he’s looking down on people.”
Update: HuffPo’s posted the audio. Sounds like an accurate transcription to me.
Update: Obama answers. No denial, no clarification, just an awkward change of subject to McCain. When does he deliver the Great Speech on Condescension to get himself off the hook for this one?
“Senator Obama has said many times in this campaign that Americans are understandably upset with their leaders in Washington for saying anything to win elections while failing to stand up to the special interests and fight for an economic agenda that will bring jobs and opportunity back to struggling communities. And if John McCain wants a debate about who’s out of touch with the American people, we can start by talking about the tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans that he once said offended his conscience but now wants to make permanent,”
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Blowback
Note from Hot Air management: This section is for comments from Hot Air's community of registered readers. Please don't assume that Hot Air management agrees with or otherwise endorses any particular comment just because we let it stand. A reminder: Anyone who fails to comply with our terms of use may lose their posting privilege.
Trackbacks/Pings
Trackback URL
Comments
Comment pages: « 1 [2] 3 4 5 6 »
Time to unleash the Carvillain! Take the gloves off!
Nosferightu on April 11, 2008 at 5:44 PM
That’s his position when in public, during the primary and in small, xenophobic towns. But he can probably be bought as easily and cheaply as any member of Congress.
snaggletoothie on April 11, 2008 at 5:44 PM
Obama likes hunting too. Hunting for white victims. Wonder if he’ll catch any? Like his wife said, “We need more whites.”
JiangxiDad on April 11, 2008 at 5:46 PM
Just for starters, have you given a thought to the brazen hypocrisy of it all? Does the name Reverend Jeremiah Wright ring a bell?
Do you think he was speaking in complimentary tones about the citizens of Pennsylvania or was he insulting them?
Buy Danish on April 11, 2008 at 5:47 PM
Right now, Al Gore’s phone is ringing off the hook.
THE CHOSEN ONE on April 11, 2008 at 5:47 PM
Dude.
Mike D. on April 11, 2008 at 5:47 PM
So people with jobs WON’T cling to guns and religion?
Hmmm…that makes my stocked gun-safe and weekly church visits seem rather odd considering my great job.
What a vapid loser this guy is turning out to be. While talking to rich whitey he condescends the poor, the next day he tells the poor that he will get back at rich whitey by taxing them more.
Go home Obama, you just weren’t meant to get this gig.
Bishop on April 11, 2008 at 5:48 PM
That’s a good point actually. Can’t expect Democrats to be held to the same standard as Republicans.
re: everyone here - A lot of people recognize that Kerry is in a case of foot/mouth all by himself.
Spirit of 1776 on April 11, 2008 at 5:48 PM
Yes. He wasn’t calling them bad people like you conservatives like to paint liberals as doing, he was explaining the sentiment.
Nonfactor on April 11, 2008 at 5:49 PM
Obama’s a thoroughgoing economic determinist.
It’s the most obvious residue, to me, of the leftwing environment he matured in.
Yeah I know, stop the presses: Obama’s a lefty.
SteveMG on April 11, 2008 at 5:49 PM
This is very typical of liberals. They say, “People don’t actually believe in [insert cause here, whether it’s gun rights, border control, etc.], they just do it to pander…etc.”
But if pandering in such a way is assumed to be successful, then there must be a lot of people who believe in those causes. So it’s not really pandering, its petitioning the government for a redress of grievances.
Nosferightu on April 11, 2008 at 5:53 PM
So you mean he thinks they are good people who won’t be voting for him. Yes, you are right.
JiangxiDad on April 11, 2008 at 5:53 PM
Don’t worry you rubes:
Barack Obama will require you to work. He is going to demand that you shed your cynicism. That you put down your divisions. That you come out of your isolation, that you move out of your comfort zones. That you push yourselves to be better. And that you engage. Barack will never allow you to go back to your lives as usual, uninvolved, uninformed.
And he is going to make sure the price of Arugala at the Whole Foods is affordable for every racist, religious xenophobic hick in AmeriKKKa!!
ihasurnominashun on April 11, 2008 at 5:56 PM
Uhhh… if people were so poor wouldn’t they sell the gun for money? >:}
Chakra Hammer on April 11, 2008 at 5:57 PM
He whines in his books that no one understands his issues, yet he seems to think he knows all about “White” American’s frustrations and “anger” ….he projects his own neuroses on an entire race that never did anything to him!
ihasurnominashun on April 11, 2008 at 5:58 PM
“If those hicks would just stop clinging to their religion and get a clue they would be much better off. Worship me instead.”
Obama/Carpathia 2008
Bishop on April 11, 2008 at 5:59 PM
Hopefully when these poor village folk finally have to sell their guns, there will be some sweet bargains coming…
I really really want a 6.5mm Swedish Mauser…
pseudonominus on April 11, 2008 at 6:00 PM
How conceited you are. What else does someone you’ve never met think about someone else you’ve never met?
Nonfactor on April 11, 2008 at 6:00 PM
Where I come from we have a name for people who talk like that.
DIRTBAG.
peacenprosperity on April 11, 2008 at 6:01 PM
STOP FEEDING THE TROLL, PEOPLE.
misterpeasea on April 11, 2008 at 6:01 PM
Yes. He wasn’t calling them bad people like you conservatives like to paint liberals as doing, he was explaining the sentiment.
Oh no, a sensitive liberal would never do something like that.
No, BHO was trying to explain that joblessness or a depressed local economy causes people to be interested in guns and the church while being against immigrants.
Now all Obie has to do is explain why there are so many employed gun owners and opponents of crappy immigration policy.
Bishop on April 11, 2008 at 6:01 PM
I beg your pardon, it was a race that raised and fed and clothed him and sent him to a snotty ivy league school.
peacenprosperity on April 11, 2008 at 6:02 PM
Right now, Howard Dean is drafting his resignation letter.
THE CHOSEN ONE on April 11, 2008 at 6:03 PM
How dare we hold dear to our freedom and rule of law!
SocklessJoe on April 11, 2008 at 6:04 PM
I really really want a 6.5mm Swedish Mauser
And I would like an FN-49, though I’m not sure a bunch of Bible-thumpin’ hicks from rural Penn would have such a rifle in their house.
Bishop on April 11, 2008 at 6:04 PM
Uh oh, Obama has issued a “no comment” just now. Sweet.
THE CHOSEN ONE on April 11, 2008 at 6:05 PM
I did say anything TO him, not anything FOR him…on which you are totally correct!
ihasurnominashun on April 11, 2008 at 6:07 PM
Nonfactor:
Heh… that’s funny.
Obama’s comment encapsulates everything that is wrong with him as a candidate: like most on the Left, he is an elitist. We see similar elitism in academia; in Hollywood; and in media organizations like the New York Times. They view themselves as being more enlightened than those on the Right. Yes, Obama was explaining a sentiment… his sentiment.
jasnell on April 11, 2008 at 6:07 PM
You must know Obama personally, because you know personally that he wasn’t calling them bad people. If you think people who support Obama must get to know him personally in order to know his good intentions, I’m afraid he can’t win the Presidency. Give him my regrets when you see him. And hello to the Mrs.
JiangxiDad on April 11, 2008 at 6:08 PM
That depends if you think that being referred to as a racial stereotype, that is too stupid to figure that the reason you like boom sticks, and are suspicious of foreigners is “bad”.
Obama knows.
Hening on April 11, 2008 at 6:08 PM
Obama’s echo chamber has a leak…LMAO
ihasurnominashun on April 11, 2008 at 6:08 PM
Yes! He owes everything he has to the white race. What an ungrateful black man.
Nonfactor on April 11, 2008 at 6:09 PM
Obama has surpassed Bill/Hilary Clinton on the art of triangulation.
- He’s for NAFTA, and against it, depending on the audience.
- He’s for or against illegal immigration, depending on the audience.
- He’s for or against billionaires…
- He’s for or against Capitalism…
- He’s for or against single-payer healthcare…
- Please, be very careful - this is a wolf in sheeps’ clothing, a very artful one.
The real Obama is a billionaires-supported Marxist, and an artful hypocrite. Also watch the games with one of his adherents saying/doing something outrageous, then him swooping in with a ‘wise’ statement, making him to be the true Messiah for the general audience. The media will not help anyone to see this.
It’s precisely the ones he derides in this speech he’ll wish to vote for him in Nov. They might be more savvy than he thinks. There still are just a few billionaires/millionaires, and a lot of people who vote.
p.s. As a devout Capitalist, I admire self-made rich people, especially the ones who don’t live double-standard lives, and preach something else to others.
p.p.s. Soros and ilk are most dangerous and need to be punished this year.
Entelechy on April 11, 2008 at 6:10 PM
What sentiment? He is implicitly asserting that people are religious, or oppose illegal immigration, or have guns to protect themselves out of “bitterness” and “frustration”.
This from a star student of Saul Alinsky, who formed his radical activism around themes of “self interest” and “power”.
Buy Danish on April 11, 2008 at 6:10 PM
Obama’s BLACK father abandoned him. He was raised by his WHITE mother, WHITE grandmother and WHITE grandfather….uh, he’s a very ungrateful man, regardless of the color he chooses to embrace.
ihasurnominashun on April 11, 2008 at 6:10 PM
Nonfactor, strictly on topic, I thought that you and Obama were for the ‘little’ man.
Entelechy on April 11, 2008 at 6:11 PM
Is it non-elitist to label people who you don’t agree with?
Nonfactor on April 11, 2008 at 6:11 PM
Proving whites are the superior race.
Nonfactor on April 11, 2008 at 6:11 PM
That is odd, I always see liberals and democrats painting me a money grubbing witch from the west because I work in Oil. To bad they never say they have Stock in most Oil companies AND in Haliburton!
I really do not see any conciet with anyone in here concerning themselves or B.H.O. unless you woul dlike to point something out.
lets put it this way…. have you ever walked up to a homeless man or women, who smells like urea and alcohol and you know that person will have to sit in a tub for a long time to get the travel dirt out? That is how B.H.O. sees the poor of America. Pretty sad isn’t it, for the Poor!
upinak on April 11, 2008 at 6:12 PM
Thank God we have you, to tell us how he REALLY feels!
Chuck Schick on April 11, 2008 at 6:12 PM
There’s no superior race. However, hypocrisy has no color. The Democrats are doing a mighty fine job of exposing that truth.
Entelechy on April 11, 2008 at 6:13 PM
So now he’s pretending to be an atheist….ahh that’s sweet he’s pandering to the leftists.
Frankly I don’t even think they will care when they find out he is muslim.
SaintOlaf on April 11, 2008 at 6:13 PM
That’s exactly the problem. He presumes to know the reason that rural people believe the way they do, and implies it is unhealthy and arises from bitterness.
mikeyboss on April 11, 2008 at 6:15 PM
I don’t think they care that he is a muslim or not. But who am I to say.
upinak on April 11, 2008 at 6:15 PM
Allert!!!
AUDIENDE, AUDIENCE, AUDIENCE
What is key on this thread is to not lose sight of where he said it. Expose the fact of where he goes to get his money and his marching orders - the lavishly wealthy billionaire street elite, who thrive for Marxism, so they can exploit the masses even better. EXPOSE THIS ALL THE WAY TO NOVEMBER!!!
Entelechy on April 11, 2008 at 6:16 PM
I see you had already made my point. Well put.
mikeyboss on April 11, 2008 at 6:17 PM
You said that, I didn’t.
ihasurnominashun on April 11, 2008 at 6:17 PM
Whoa, who da thunk she would have said…. optimist!
upinak on April 11, 2008 at 6:18 PM
Begone troll.
Chakra Hammer on April 11, 2008 at 6:18 PM
And if your previous comments are any indication you agree.
Nonfactor on April 11, 2008 at 6:18 PM
Nonfactor = Obama troll
Chakra Hammer on April 11, 2008 at 6:19 PM
Uniter.
29Victor on April 11, 2008 at 6:19 PM
Well, as a “typical white” woman, I have been bred to fear them.
ihasurnominashun on April 11, 2008 at 6:19 PM
Right now, Obama is writing a speech on Main Street America paranoia that will send a shrill up Chris Mathews’ leg.
THE CHOSEN ONE on April 11, 2008 at 6:19 PM
Good to know someone else is equally creeped out.
John_Locke on April 11, 2008 at 6:20 PM
Nonfactor, maybe he was just hoping to change those billionaires into common folks, in which case we’d all be mistaken.
Entelechy on April 11, 2008 at 6:21 PM
Actually, from everything you have posted so far, I am sure there is absolutely NOTHING we agree on.
ihasurnominashun on April 11, 2008 at 6:21 PM
I cling to my religion everyday. But I’m not bitter. Of course I don’t live in PA, but I don’t think that was his point.
How many people can you offend with one statement?
ctmom on April 11, 2008 at 6:21 PM
Easy now, Jeremiah Wright has been clingin’ to religion for decades and he is also a poor man. Why, his new house only has four bathrooms.
Bishop on April 11, 2008 at 6:22 PM
Nonfactor, maybe he was just hoping to change those billionaires into common folks, in which case we’d all be mistaken.
That would be pretty audacious of him.
Bishop on April 11, 2008 at 6:23 PM
I think Ms. Hillary played that well.
mikeyboss on April 11, 2008 at 6:23 PM
You Go Hillary! Oh, my, God, this is a fun election cycle…if you ignore the fact that all the candidates suck, I mean.
ihasurnominashun on April 11, 2008 at 6:24 PM
Good to know someone else is equally creeped out.
Shhhhhh…just take the mark and bow down. There you go, I will wash away all your worries.
Change is a’comin.
Bishop on April 11, 2008 at 6:25 PM
Well played both.
Spirit of 1776 on April 11, 2008 at 6:25 PM
Hillary’s such a creep. If she had any moral authority she could say “people don’t need a president bought and paid for by idealistic and hypocritical elitist billionaires, while telling us to drink water while they sip champagne”. Alas, she’s bought and sold by same, and the Glacier is full of caca.
Entelechy on April 11, 2008 at 6:25 PM
Leave Pennsylvania Alone!!
JiangxiDad on April 11, 2008 at 6:25 PM
What a condescending prick. I live in Indiana and I think that when that primary comes up here I will go vote for Hillary. I will also vote for McCain in November, but this kind of remark deserves a response from one of us bitter small town gun owning Jesus freaks.
Terrye on April 11, 2008 at 6:26 PM
Got one! All matching numbers, primo condition. Not selling it though, think I’ll cling to it a while longer. Times are tough you know.
Oldnuke on April 11, 2008 at 6:27 PM
BWA-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
misterpeasea on April 11, 2008 at 6:28 PM
I can’t remember a time when a politician offended so many people from so many groups in one statement, while simultaneously confirming so many stereotypes about the Bay Area, urban, leftist elite and did so in a very calculated and deliberate manner.
Nosferightu on April 11, 2008 at 6:28 PM
Did Barry happen to site his plan to bring jobs back to those small towns?
PappaMac on April 11, 2008 at 6:31 PM
Ooh, I love this. the longer the Dem race goes on, the faster they implode.
4 more months!
4 more months!
E L Frederick (Sniper One) on April 11, 2008 at 6:31 PM
Major foulup by Obama. He’ll try to backtrack and correct it; but you can’t unring the bell. Especially in the age of youtube and the internet. It’s history.
We need to remember how untested this guy is. He’s never run a national campaign before. He’s used to playing before liberal/left audiences. He’s used to an easy, complaisant press.
He’s going to make lots of mistakes. It’s up to McCain and his supporters to jump on them.
SteveMG on April 11, 2008 at 6:31 PM
Gore
Kerry
Obama
H.R.Clinton
Do these people eat their young? I don’t know whether to be glad that the left is so mired in their leftism, or horrified that the country has only one sane political party. The Democrats don’t know the meaning of loyal opposition.
njcommuter on April 11, 2008 at 6:31 PM
I’m from L.A. and I was offended. Keep in mind that for these guys, “rural hick” is a state of mind and it begins with being pro-American, pro-Western and religious (or anyone of the three).
Nosferightu on April 11, 2008 at 6:32 PM
It appears the Reverend Wright’s teachings have bubbled up in Obama’s preachings.
So, out of the three stooges left for POTUS, Obama fits the mold of Moe Howard, the perpetually angry one.
Kini on April 11, 2008 at 6:33 PM
I used to think that the only person who could beat Obama was McCain.
The more I see this guy (Obama), the more I’m beginning to think that even that famous Republican David Gergen could beat him.
(ahem)
C’mon, it’s a joke.
SteveMG on April 11, 2008 at 6:34 PM
Be sure to read the comments at the link…Amazing! The Dems are in utter meltdown…
pdxpunk on April 11, 2008 at 6:35 PM
And the best part is Obama still beats Hillary. He comes limping into the general election on one leg, battered bloody weary and dazed.
JiangxiDad on April 11, 2008 at 6:35 PM
yeah, might as well nominated Newt to run against Obama at pace he’s going
jp on April 11, 2008 at 6:36 PM
The mask slips.
JustTruth101 on April 11, 2008 at 6:37 PM
Yeah but I just hope McCain is up for the struggle. He’d better take the gloves off soon.
Oldnuke on April 11, 2008 at 6:38 PM
Courtesy of Mayfield Fowler, more gems from Barack, presumably at the same San Francisco fundraiser, on why he doesn’t need a VP with foreign policy creds:
More guffaw material:
Like his cousin Odinga? His step-grandmother? Woop dee doo.
Are you impressed yet?
Buy Danish on April 11, 2008 at 6:39 PM
Is he against the impoverished people in the small villages in Africa like he is those in PA? Why?
JiangxiDad on April 11, 2008 at 6:42 PM
.
Well, he can’t (or shouldn’t). But his supporters should.
Leave the dirty work for others, Mac.
SteveMG on April 11, 2008 at 6:43 PM
My goodness, it was exhilarating to see Barry shove his foot in his mouth clean up to the hip.
irongrampa on April 11, 2008 at 6:44 PM
He’s not Black, he’s Malado…half Black, half White.
The Black half of him ran off & the White half supported,raised & made sure he was educated.
But, don’t worry,…eventually he will go after his own white-ness.
lobosan5 on April 11, 2008 at 6:44 PM
Dang, there Barry goes ag’in with that all nuanced stuff that I’m just too stoopid to unnerstan’. Good thing that he’s got so many folk rushing to splain to me what he REALLY meant.
Heh
Guess my MBA from a top tier school and 55 years of life experience just didn’t prepare me for the likes of a fancy talkin’ messiah. Maybe there’s a Obama Cliff Notes I can pick up somewhere.
in_awe on April 11, 2008 at 6:44 PM
This fellow Hoosier is thinking along the same lines.
mikeyboss on April 11, 2008 at 6:45 PM
There is. It’s a little red book…
Grayson on April 11, 2008 at 6:46 PM
Disgusting!
Obama is nothing more than a pseudo elitist snob and is pandering to rich elitist urbanites. He must either be defeated now or in November.
rplat on April 11, 2008 at 6:48 PM
Does this remark count as Obama’s macaca moment? All that any 527 group has to do is play this clip in a radio message enough times to underscore what the “Messiah” is all about.
onlineanalyst on April 11, 2008 at 6:49 PM
I wanna know how he feels about people in the suburbs. They better ask him in the debates. People are asking.
JiangxiDad on April 11, 2008 at 6:50 PM
ha ha ha ha ha ha ahha ha ha haaha ha ha ha ha ah ahhaHA HA HA HA!!!
lobosan5 on April 11, 2008 at 6:50 PM
Is it non-elitist to label people who you don’t agree with?
Heh… classic. What makes it even funnier are your lame attempts at sarcasm with statements like, “Proving whites are the superior race.” Damn, those ignorant Conversatives are at it again!
Look, labeling people is not the issue. We all have our labels. I’m Conservative, Christian, White, Middle-Class, White-collar, Rural, Educated and Heterosexual, and there are likely plenty more labels you could throw my way.
Saying that folks on the Left tend exhibit elitist attitudes towards folks on the Right is not a label. It is a statement of fact that simply cannot be refuted. In fact, you’ve been demonstrating the point here in this thread. The folks over at MoveOn.org and The Democratic Underground have built their entire existence on the idea that the Right is largely composed of knuckle-dragging ignorant Bible thumpers who want to see all foreigners water boarded while we wave our guns around.
Given the Culture of the Left, this statement from Obama is not a surprise. Neither is it surprising to find most of the comments over at sites like democraticunderground seem to be supporting Obama’s comments. Nor should it be surprising that many people are finding the comments to be offensive.
jasnell on April 11, 2008 at 6:51 PM
Oh, and and as for her Highness’ comment: Bwahahahaha! Can’t…breathe…
Grayson on April 11, 2008 at 6:51 PM
Too bad we can’t HEAR him saying it. I’m sure he will try to backpedal somehow, but he wouldn’t be able to hide the condescension dripping from his voice.
ctmom on April 11, 2008 at 6:52 PM
The most visible bitterness and hate these days seems to be from people very much like barry.
peacenprosperity on April 11, 2008 at 6:52 PM
Comment pages: « 1 [2] 3 4 5 6 »