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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.

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Phred said:

Well, it is what he said, more or less.

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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.

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Obama Tries Damage Control; Epic Fail

To be honest that vid isn't as good as Allah's deconstruction of it. Pay attention to Obama's attempt to limit the "gaffe" to calling people "bitter." http://hotair.com/archives/2008/04/11/obama-tries-to-change-the-subject-im-out-of-touch/

Dude, that's the least of it and you know it. You came this close to saying "Religion is the opiate of the masses." You strongly implied that people "cling to their religion" only due to economic desperation, and not out of faith at all.

Allah and I were emailing about this and I said, "Well, you know, they all think that. It's the What's the Matter With Kansas? theory that has such a grip on the liberal mindset. They can't comprehend why people aren't gung-ho for socialism, so they postulate that people are 'distracted' and 'divided' by sinister forces injecting 'phony issues' (like God) into politics to keep them from voting for socialism."

Which is, yes, itself pretty much just a re-wording of "Religion is the opiate of the masses."

Will this hurt Obama? I doubt it, as far as the primaries go. Because, once again: Almost all liberals believe this. Obama was just stupid enough to say it before a primary. So he'll get all the liberal votes he was going to get anyway; quite frankly, his voters won't even understand what the fuss is all about. Why shouldn't Obama say it? It's true, isn't it? Downtrodden, uneducated, backwoods smoked-porcupine-pie type people (that would be you and me) of course cling to simple concepts their tiny brains can grasp -- guns, God, patriotism, the lot of it -- because we're just not capable of understanding the complexities of a functioning socialist economic system on the European model.

The only way this hurts him is if superdelegates now realize he cannot win in November, and begin flipping for Lance Corporal Hillary Clinton. But I doubt that will happen, and anyway, the Democratic party cannot afford to not nominate Barack Obama at this point.

I don't want to say that Obama is now unelectable but he's coming perilously close to that point.

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Obama Sends Actor Ronnie Cox To Mend Fences With Small-Town Folks

An emissary of hope. And change. And banjo.

It's patriotic, too, y'all. You heard Yankee Doodle Dandy in there, right?

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“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.”

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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. http://www.weeklystandard.com/weblogs/TWSFP/2008/03/obama_its_all_a_distraction.asp 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?

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Phred said:
gaffe: an unintentional act or remark causing embarrassment to its originator; a blunder

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It was the gaffe to end all gaffes. Obama just insulted the hell out of a gigantic chunk of voters. He's fucking toast.

What's even worse was his lame-ass attempt at damage control, where it is so painfully obvious he's dancing all around the offensive comment, trying to pretend the whole issue is about his claim that people are bitter, and oh.... look over there! McCain once said something bad!

He's fucking doomed. This is the kind of gift that just keeps on giving.

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afoaf said:
this entire thread smacks of desperation.

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The remark was intentional, and he is not embarrassed by it, as he is standing behind it.

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If you think it is an insult then you don't understand the comment. It is an objective observation.

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Any feigned insult is being interjected by the reader, who would certainly not be voting for Obama in the first place.

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Too post this with "outrage" appears very desperate.

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And there, in a nutshell, is Obama's problem. The base he panders to quite honestly cannot even see what is wrong with what he said. They don't grasp how the people Obama is slurring could possibly be offended by his condescension. Because to them, of course the people Obama references are corncob-smokin', banjo-strokin', chicken-chokin', cousin-pokin' inbred hillbilly racist morons whose mystifying enthusiasms are symptoms of psychic damage.

And because Obama has spent his entire adult life surrounded by people who hold this viewpoint, he is totally lost at sea when required to deal with anyone else. Like the average American, for example.

No way this asshat is winning the general election. Hell, at this rate he might not even get the nomination.






Phred

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Obama references are corncob-smokin', banjo-strokin', chicken-chokin', cousin-pokin' inbred hillbilly racist morons whose mystifying enthusiasms are symptoms of psychic damage.

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Having lived in the midwest for 22 of my 23 years, I can attest that what he says is completely true.

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We all know Liberal politicians have utter contempt for the poor benighted denizens of the "flyover" states. But at least they have the good sense not to express this contempt out loud. Obama doesn't have even that much sense. A politician stupid enough to say what he said is a politician orders of magnitude too stupid to be handed the keys to the most powerful nation on the planet.

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And because Obama has spent his entire adult life surrounded by people who hold this viewpoint, he is totally lost at sea when required to deal with anyone else. Like the average American, for example.

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afoaf said:
this entire thread smacks of desperation.

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Also, what's your point with your original post? That this rhetoric is incorrect, that obama's views as expressed should not be supported by yourself and us, that obama is an unappealing candidate to PA because of it, or what? I really don't get the point, and it seems a little silly to be railing on him so hard because of this.

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Would you really adopt such a stance if it was your favored candidate who said these things?

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The whole thing seems a red herring to me, not really worthy of much introspection.

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that will certainly cost him the election.

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Haha! Oh please. Yes, THIS will be the thing that makes him lose the election.

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Of course it seems that way to you, duh. You're a Liberal.

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I can't really take your feigned outrage very seriously because I'd imagine if McCain had said a similar thing you'd be trying to whitewash it... no pun intended. Pure partisan junk.

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Of course it seems that way to you, duh. You're a Liberal. As I pointed out earlier in the thread, Libs don't even realize he did anything wrong. That's yet another facet of this situation that makes it such comedy gold, the gift that keeps on giving -- the fact that this enormous blunder just zings right over the heads of so many Liberal elitists. It's like, "Dude, what? What am I missing, here?"

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johnm214 said:

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Of course it seems that way to you, duh. You're a Liberal. As I pointed out earlier in the thread, Libs don't even realize he did anything wrong. That's yet another facet of this situation that makes it such comedy gold, the gift that keeps on giving -- the fact that this enormous blunder just zings right over the heads of so many Liberal elitists. It's like, "Dude, what? What am I missing, here?"

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I've been called worse, but I wouldn't consider myself to be a liberal. I'm not going to vote democratic as it stands now, w/ hillary and obama both distastefull to me, does that disqualify me? (I'll also not vote green or socialist)


I just think its much ado about nothing. Yes it was a bad thing to say if your trying to win PA, and it does sound condescending, but he's right insofar as the folks I know, who aren't that far from PA, and live very similarly to the areas he's refering to.

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Phred said:
You guys honestly think these folks converted from atheist gun control zealots to religious gun owners when the local textile factory closed its doors before you were born? That if that textile factory were still in operation, these folks wouldn't be going to church? They wouldn't own guns? They'd embrace illegal aliens? Nigga, please! These folks were doing all those same things back in the Fifties.

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Saturday, April 12, 2008
Advertisment

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Saturday shows John McCain with a very slight advantage over Barack Obama, 47% to 43%. In a match-up with Hillary Clinton, the results are the same--McCain 47% Clinton 43% (see recent daily results).

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Phred said:
LOL!

I'm not outraged. I'm amused. Greatly amused.

The spectacle of this hollow suit stepping on his dick is to be savored. It's freaking comedy gold. I'm grinning all over my face.

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Of course it seems that way to you, duh. You're a Liberal. As I pointed out earlier in the thread, Libs don't even realize he did anything wrong. That's yet another facet of this situation that makes it such comedy gold, the gift that keeps on giving -- the fact that this enormous blunder just zings right over the heads of so many Liberal elitists. It's like, "Dude, what? What am I missing, here?"

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I don't recall writing that. I don't think it's from me.

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If you don't think Wright hurt him you really have absolutely zero grasp of politics. Sorry. You guys keep focusing on how this plays to registered Democrats.

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supernovasky said:
Zappa, if Wright hurt him, why did his poll numbers vs. McCain go up AFTER the Wright controversy, and his poll numbers against Hillary reached its highest point?

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And Obama isnt even RUNNING against McCain yet with even fractions of his campaign warchest.

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I quite honestly think that you and lonestar and Phred will be shocked at this man's ability to hold an effective campaign to bring the things that the majority of Americans desire, such as a gradual withdrawal from Iraq, cheaper health care and a health care policy that makes sense, and an administration that accepts and promotes scientific research and technology.

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Phred said:






Phred

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Just some "Typical BITTER White people." Phred



Obama has just lost Pennsylvania,  I wonder how the Guns and god comments will play in North Carolina??


could Obama lose North Carolina over this?

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lonestar2004 said:

Obama has just lost Pennsylvania,  I wonder how the Guns and god comments will play in North Carolina??


could Obama lose North Carolina over this?

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Dear Senator Obama:

This week at a fundraiser in San Francisco you denigrated people who live in small town America saying that "they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them, or anti-immigrant sentiments or anti-trade sentiments as a way to explain their frustrations."

We are from small town America - we are the people you are talking about, the people you say are leading "bitter" lives. Well, Senator Obama, nothing could be further from the truth. Here in small town America we lead productive lives full of belief in God and country. We live in communities where we go to church because we are hopeful, not because we are bitter. We believe that our passion for fair trade is born out of the principle of fair play, not frustration. We believe that the future of our country is bright and reflected every day in the stars and stripes of our country's flag.

We need a leader who will stand up for small town North Carolina and all Americans. Someone who understands that we are a resilient and hopeful people who are proud of our values and our communities. That, Senator Obama, is what this country needs.

Signed,

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Is there another person on the face of the earth Hillary could call an elitist without exploding in a fiery ball of spontaneous irony?

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The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Sunday shows John McCain leading Barack Obama, 50% to 42%. In a match-up with Hillary Clinton, the results are the same--McCain 49% Clinton 41%. McCain now leads both Democrats among unaffiliated voters. Daily tracking results are updated daily at 9:30 a.m. Eastern Time (see recent daily results). Rasmussen Markets data shows that Democrats are given a 59.6 % chance of winning the White House this year.

In the race for the Democratic Presidential Nomination, Clinton has gained a statistically-insignificant one-point advantage over Obama, 46% to 45%. Obama led by a significant margin for most of the past week, but his advantage had declined slightly even before his controversial remarks from San Francisco made news (see recent daily results).

Rasmussen Reports is surveying voters this weekend for reaction to Obama’s remarks. Preliminary indications from interviews with 400 Likely Voters suggest that the comments are troublesome for Republicans and unaffiliated voters. However, there is less of an impact among Democrats. That tends to confirm the growing consensus that the comments may have more impact on the General Election than the Primaries.(note: I don't know why this is a "growing consensus". I thought it was obvious from the get go)

The preliminary data also suggests that Obama was shrewd to try and focus attention on the portion of the comments about people being bitter. That part of the message is well received. The reference to guns, religion, and immigration that creates potential problems. Rasmussen Markets data still gives Obama an 83.7 % chance of winning the Democratic nomination.

Overall, among all voters nationwide, McCain is viewed favorably by 55% and unfavorably by 42%. Obama’s ratings have fallen to 48% favorable and 50% unfavorable. For Clinton, those numbers are 46% favorable, 51% unfavorable (see recent daily results).

Obama’s favorable ratings peaked at 56% in mid-February and stayed above 50% for another month until the comments of his former Pastor Jeremiah Wright made news. By late March, Obama’s favorable ratings had fallen ten points from their peak to 46%. But, as March became April, his ratings began to recover and moved back above the 50% mark for ten straight days until today. Obama is currently viewed favorably by 45% of unaffiliated voters and 44% of White voters.

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The latest results are based on interviews with national Democratic primary voters conducted April 9-11 and represent Obama's sixth straight day of leading Clinton by a significant margin in Gallup Poll Daily tracking reports. Obama's lead is substantially narrower in the two most recent days of interviews, however, suggesting the race could tighten in the coming days.

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Polling data released Saturday from North Carolina shows he is now in a toss-up with McCain (the poll was completed before his San Francisco comments made the news).

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We'll see.

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Phred said:
...Cousin'-Pokin' Inbred Hillbilly Racist Morons

From  http://ace.mu.nu/archives/259984.php

Well, it is what he said, more or less.

Actually he said this at a San Fransisco fundraiser (of course), but I can't wait 'till Pennsylvanians hear about this. Obama on the "resentments" of small-town Pennsylvanians:

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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.

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Nevermind all that stalking and sodomizing of city-slickers from Atlanta.

This isn't Obama "misspeaking," either. Remember, in that speech on race -- the greatest speech since Abraham Lincoln -- he first seemed to allow that white Americans had legitimate complaints about affirmative action and black crime rates, but then claimed those frustrations were actually misdirected anger about corporations.

This is pure leftist cant -- it's all "false consciousness" stuff, all what our Corporate Masters want us to think, playing us all against each other as they line their pockets with our sweat and tears.

Guns, border security, even religion itself aren't really legitimate points of interest. Instead they're all part of the "culture of fear" indoctrinated into us by the corporate emperors really running this country.

****************************************
Obama's Political Education: Here is exclusive archival footage of Obama being groomed for his candidacy by ace campaign manager David Axelrod:

Much, much more at the link. Click it.... you know you want to.



Phred

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So funny to me that when politicos lie and spout pure crap everybody smiles and claps like idiots but if someone tells the truth for a minute everybody freaks out.

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Icelander said:


So funny to me that when politicos lie and spout pure crap everybody smiles and claps like idiots but if someone tells the truth for a minute everybody freaks out.

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And in my opinion, this isn't even that big of a mistatement.

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supernovasky said:
Lol. Zappa, who are you kidding Rasmussen is a GOP pollster.

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Bush's approval ratings are typically 5 points above the average among other pollsters, their current poll is 8 points above the average of other pollsters as well,

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and they underpoll democrats.

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They dont score well on the pollster report card,

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so I'd remain cautious about touting some sort of McCain bounce from this.

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After all, Obama's weathered much worse political storms.

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And in my opinion, this isn't even that big of a mistatement.

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NEW YORK (AP) - There's another side to Alicia Keys: conspiracy theorist. The Grammy-winning singer-songwriter tells Blender magazine: "'Gangsta rap' was a ploy to convince black people to kill each other. 'Gangsta rap' didn't exist."

Keys, 27, said she's read several Black Panther autobiographies and wears a gold AK-47 pendant around her neck "to symbolize strength, power and killing 'em dead," according to an interview in the magazine's May issue, on newsstands Tuesday.

Another of her theories: That the bicoastal feud between slain rappers Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G. was fueled "by the government and the media, to stop another great black leader from existing."

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Barry has a very revealing habit of whining that people who don't vote for him are too stupid to appreciate his message of collectivist crap.

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Oh yeah, and Barry hates Whitey, too. "White Greed, Black Need." And the CIA made AIDS to kill black men. Unless the Whitey in question is an unrepentant terrorist. Then he is cool.

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Phred said:

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And in my opinion, this isn't even that big of a mistatement.

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Of course not. You're a Liberal.



Phred

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Redstorm said:

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Barry has a very revealing habit of whining that people who don't vote for him are too stupid to appreciate his message of collectivist crap.

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Link?

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Oh yeah, and Barry hates Whitey, too. "White Greed, Black Need." And the CIA made AIDS to kill black men. Unless the Whitey in question is an unrepentant terrorist. Then he is cool.

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Link?

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