Obama Explains It All

Mayhill Flower, who has a habit of catching Barack Obama at his closed-press-fundraiser-musiest, is back with a doozy from an Obama f'raiser in San Fransisco.

“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.”

Many Obama supporters will look at the quote above and say... "And?" Others will look at the quote above and say "Wow."

Saul Anuzis, the chairman of the Michigan Republican Party, passes along his thoughts:

"Oh really??? I wonder what the folks in Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin and even Illinois think? Talk about pandering to the liberal elite."

Steve Schmidt, an adjective-happy senior adviser to John McCain, told Politico's Jonathan Martin: "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."

CBS's Fernando Suarez passes along Hillary Clinton's response:

"I saw in the media that its being reported that my opponent said the people of Pennsylvania who faced hard times are bitter. Well, that’s not my experience as I travel around Pennsylvania I meet people who are resilient, who are optimistic who are positive who are rolling up their sleeves. They are working hard everyday for a better future for themselves and their children. Pennsylvanians don’t need a president who looks on them they need a president who stands up for them.”

Comments

I see. Straight talk is "looking down" but pandering is "standing up." Got it.

Posted by observer | April 11, 2008 6:41 PM

“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.”

Anti-trade sentiment? I guess Austan Goolsbee was right about Obama's true feelings about free trade.

Posted by Marc | April 11, 2008 6:41 PM

Like it or not, optics are important. The goal in politics is to get as more people to vote for you than for your opponent, not to win a National Book Award. Obama seems to get himself into "controversies" when he starts playing the academic, offering observations about Reagan's political style or working-class resentments that are mostly true, but should be left for historians or political scientists to discuss publicly. Profundity can come later, when Obama writes his post-Presidential memoir.

For now, he's got a primary and a general election to win, and his number one goal is gaining more support among those working class whites in the Rust Belt. These kinds of statements won't do that. Even if this particular has ends up with no legs -- (the audio on HuffPost is way too garbled) -- but Obama really needs to cut down on these kind of professorial musings in the future.

Posted by Ryan W. | April 11, 2008 6:45 PM

Obama went on:

"And I think bitter people don't deserve universal healthcare. And that's why I've been so strong in opposition to universal healthcare for the ungrateful and bitter American people."

Posted by Petey | April 11, 2008 6:46 PM

Those folks in Illinois overwhelmingly voted Obama to be their US Senator - they along with the folks from Wisconsin voted him to be the Democratic nominee for President.

Posted by Colin Hicks | April 11, 2008 6:46 PM

Clinton's response is laughable (and McCain's only moreso), even if the "optics" are unfortunate for those with GotchaScope.

Obama is a former organizer of poor people that grew up with a single mom of modest means.

And he needs to be lectured by someone who was on the Board of Walmart for years and employs union-busting Mark Penn?

[h/t Subliminability, dkos]

Posted by SamSinister | April 11, 2008 6:50 PM

Some context would obviously be appropriate.

But I hardly see what's wrong with stating the obvious. Obama said similar stuff about blacks in his race speech.

And what Obama is about is not looking the other way past the bitterness that divides us, but rather addressing it and seeing if we can overcome it together.

Anyway, do people really think that folks who lived in factory or mill or mining towns, that watched those jobs go away and nothing replace them...do you really think those folks aren't bitter?

Of course they are.

Posted by Harley Butch | April 11, 2008 6:52 PM

I'm a pretty big Obama supporter and even I'm left saying "yikes" and cringing at this one. Major league gaffe.

Posted by jbryan | April 11, 2008 6:53 PM

John McCain's campaign is attacking Barack Obama for Obama's rather indisputable comments about the rise of anti-immigrant fervor in small town America. Obama said that the rise of such fervor has a lot to do with bitterness.
But wait - didn't John McCain say something similar in December to the New Yorker?

Anti-immigrant passion also owes much to the disproportionate influence of a few small states in the nominating process. National polls show that, as an issue, immigration is far behind the Iraq war, terrorism, the economy, and health care as a concern to most Americans; a recent Pew poll shows that, nationally, only six per cent of voters offer immigration as the most important issue facing the country. But in Iowa and South Carolina, two of the three most important early states, it is a top concern for the Republicans who are most likely to vote.
"It's the influx of illegals into places where they've never seen a Hispanic influence before," McCain told me. "You probably see more emotion in Iowa than you do in Arizona on this issue. I was in a town in Iowa, and twenty years ago there were no Hispanics in the town. Then a meatpacking facility was opened up. Now twenty per cent of their population is Hispanic. There were senior citizens there who were-'concerned' is not the word. They see this as an assault on their culture, what they view as an impact on what have been their traditions in Iowa, in the small towns in Iowa. So you get questions like 'Why do I have to punch 1 for English?' 'Why can't they speak English?' It's become larger than just the fact that we need to enforce our borders."

Sure, it's not exactly the same, but it's pretty darn similar. In fact, McCain seems to be saying something far more controversial. While Obama is saying economic hardship breeds anti-immigrant feelings, McCain is saying lots of rural people just hate Hispanics. That may or may not be true - but the fact that McCain's campaign is feigning outrage over Obama's truisms when their own candidate has made thematically similar statements strikes me as...what's the word...oh yeah - dishonest.

Posted by Kelly M. | April 11, 2008 6:58 PM

So now Hillary "Chappaqua" Clinton is somehow the tribune of the people, a spokespanderer for all who labor and are heavy laden. Please. Is that something she learned at Renaissance Weekend?

Posted by TKD | April 11, 2008 7:06 PM

"And?

I see truth in what Obama says. He is speaking wealthy folks in San Francisco and Marin...steel plant closures aren't high on their consciousness. For twenty years, displaced factory workers have been told "we will retrain you"...and then call centers and radiology labs get out sourced to India. Another generation of those recently laid off is being told the same, "we will retrain you." Gas is at $3.75 a gallon, homes are being foreclosed on, and Bear Stearns gets bailed out. Your damn straight people are bitter.

When these bitter people cannot distinguish between everything Obama has said or done for people of all colors, faiths and genders over several decades, and they only concern themselves with Reverend White's annimous...antipathy toward people who aren't like them...that is a serious symptom of how America is imperfect. Fear and bitterness of undocumented immigrants, of free trade deals, of people with Islamic names or dressed in tribal clothes...this is why obama won't be elected.

This is why Obama has had a full secret service detail since March '07.

The problem isn't elitism. It's racism fueled by fear and bitterness. (listen to NPR earlier today).

You wouldn't say Obama is condescending to parents when he tells them to stop blaming teachers and start reading with your children. Why is condescending when he tells the well to do "globalization" folks that they are ignoring their lower paid, industrial worker brethren?

Posted by Cadmus | April 11, 2008 7:07 PM

Many Obama supporters will look at the quote above and say... "And?" Others will look at the quote above and say "Wow."

That's so funny, because I was just watching the tail end of Situation Room, in which Toobin, Berger, and Jack McCafferty said "So?", roundly mocking it.

The Lou Dobbs Tonight show is leading with it as "Wow", with the story title "Small Town Slam".

Posted by Cal | April 11, 2008 7:08 PM

Next....

(Please let me know when Marc has anything of substance or insight to say about this race.)

Posted by horizonr | April 11, 2008 7:16 PM

I think the comments need to be seen in their even broader context. One place to read them is:

http://ruralvotes.com/thefield/?p=1037

Posted by Roslyn | April 11, 2008 7:16 PM

I'm a huge Obama fan, and am very disappointed at him with this statement. I don't think the statement itself is bad. He was in the midst of trying to say that there's reasons why Middle America is pissed off. However, it just doesn't come good. I don't see how this doesn't destroy his candidacy. This is a huge mistake, and boggles my mind as to why he would lack judgment to say such a thing when he knows people can take it the wrong way. Very stupid statement. It doesn't do anything to my support of him, but I know it will to others. It just is a statement that the GOP will run with. Perhaps bigger than Wright controversy. Only solution - Bring back Al Gore.

Posted by David | April 11, 2008 7:30 PM

Major gaffe. And I'm an obama supporter.

Posted by Paul | April 11, 2008 7:37 PM

What Obama really said is now taken out of context by Camp clinton who are so desperate….
Full transcript of Obama’s coment:

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 most cynical about government. The people are mis-appre…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. They feel so betrayed by government that 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, then that adds another layer of skepticism.

But — so the questions you’re most likely to get about me, ‘Well, what is this guy going to do for me? What is the concrete thing?’ What they wanna hear is so we’ll give you talking points about what we’re proposing — to close tax loopholes, uh you know uh roll back the tax cuts for the top 1%, Obama’s gonna give tax breaks to uh middle-class folks and we’re gonna provide healthcare for every American.

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. 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.

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.

Posted by stan | April 11, 2008 7:38 PM

If you read the remarks in their entirety you will no longer be saying "yikes". I think I read the entire passage at First Read and what he said was not elitist and was in fact correct. Marc failed to provide the context and whole passage. It makes a big difference.

Posted by jacque | April 11, 2008 7:40 PM

Thanks Stan.

Posted by jacque | April 11, 2008 7:42 PM

David, either you're a concern troll or you need to really buck up. This comment won't "sink" his candidacy. If it does, then we were better off running with Hillary to begin with.

But as I said above, the guy needs to really cut out the meta-musings. They're easy to interpret and he may come off as sounding condescending or aloof. I know a lot of other Obama supporters look at this as another case of Obama uttering a hard truth -- but some hard truths need not be uttered by Obama. He's running for office, and sometimes, that involves not saying truthful things that can be easily misinterpreted and used against you.

Posted by Ryan W. | April 11, 2008 7:46 PM

Is this all they can find to criticize Obama with? Yikes. I mean, Jesus said things that were more offensive than this.

It's like it was with Al Gore. No matter what he said, it'd be taken out of context, held to the light to see if there were any cracks in it, and even when there weren't, scandals were just invented (as in, "Gore claimed he invented the Internet"). Meanwhile his Republican opponent could cheerfully lie about anything and everything and no one cared. And it's just the same now.

It doesn't even matter any more what Obama does or doesn't do, he'll still get the same mud in the exact same quantities thrown at him. (Same goes for Hillary if she pulls ahead.)

Posted by Hans B | April 11, 2008 7:52 PM

I'm with Ryan W. on this. I think that Obama's natural style is somewhat professorial. He's both reflective and analytical -- positive qualities needless to say -- but at moments like this, I think he needs to edit his musings and consider not simply what he means but how it sounds.

Posted by barbarian | April 11, 2008 7:55 PM

The rule is not to say anything that requires historical or contextual thinking. Is Obama correct in his observation? Yes, probably more so than most would want to recognize. People who feel squeezed by forces they can't see will retreat into sentiments that make them feel better about themselves, even if those feelings won't actually do anything to alleviate the problem.

But that won't matter, because the Lou Dobbs and Sean Hannitys of this world are suspect of anything that can't be boiled down into a 3 second idea, with every element of the thought being contained within those three seconds.

Posted by Marcus | April 11, 2008 8:03 PM

I know exactly what Obama was trying to say, and I do indeed agree with it. Doesn't change the fact that, yep, he REALLY stepped in it with this one. Yikes. The Clintons and McCain are going to feed off this statement for a long time to come.

Posted by firebrand | April 11, 2008 8:10 PM

"[T]hey cling to guns... to explain their frustrations"
This makes no sense, but it sure makes guns sound bad. How does clinging to my gun explain my frustration? He is not speaking truths, for sure.

"[They cling to] religion... to explain their frustrations." Give me the data that people are MORE religious in small town PA than they were 25 years ago. I doubt it. And it sure makes religion sound bad. No, no, no, not God Bless Pennsylvania...
"[They cling to] antipathy to people who aren't like them... as a way to explain their frustrations." Give us the data, professor, on increased small town antipathy for people not like them (as opposed to me, Barak Obama, and you, San Francisco elite donors, who are not them, but us, as we know.)

There might be increased anti-trade or anti-immigration reform attitudes in small town PA compared to 1983. If true, I lack Obama's confidence in the causal factors for such change in sentiment. It might just as well be caused by a major candidate for president who says the U.S. should be afraid of free trade with the Colombian juggernaut, but it's not a theory I would cling to. I don't live in Pennsylvania, so I'm not that clingy.

Posted by weffiewonj | April 11, 2008 8:14 PM

"[T]hey cling to guns... to explain their frustrations"
This makes no sense, but it sure makes guns sound bad. How does clinging to my gun explain my frustration? He is not speaking truths, for sure.

"[They cling to] religion... to explain their frustrations." Give me the data that people are MORE religious in small town PA than they were 25 years ago. I doubt it. And it sure makes religion sound bad. No, no, no, not God Bless Pennsylvania...
"[They cling to] antipathy to people who aren't like them... as a way to explain their frustrations." Give us the data, professor, on increased small town antipathy for people not like them (as opposed to me, Barak Obama, and you, San Francisco elite donors, who are not them, but us, as we know.)

There might be increased anti-trade or anti-immigration reform attitudes in small town PA compared to 1983. If true, I lack Obama's confidence in the causal factors for such change in sentiment. It might just as well be caused by a major candidate for president who says the U.S. should be afraid of free trade with the Colombian juggernaut, but it's not a theory I would cling to. I don't live in Pennsylvania, so I'm not that clingy.

Posted by weffiewonj | April 11, 2008 8:14 PM

Yes, sadly, dumb it down Barack, dumb it down.

Posted by dawn2dusk | April 11, 2008 8:15 PM

McCain's quote "It is hard to imagine someone running for president who is more out of touch with average Americans" is literally from bizarro land. It's the polar opposite of the truth.

I think until the electorate isn't swayed by BS like this then we're going to get the president we deserve. Unfortunately.

Posted by bakum | April 11, 2008 8:18 PM

Did anyone read the full quote in context? It's posted by Marc Ambinder. Worth reading... since it's so common and easy nowadays for MSM to pull a quote and post out of context.

Posted by LnGrrrR | April 11, 2008 8:34 PM

Excuse me, it was posted by Kelly M, on Marc Ambinder's other post.

Posted by LnGrrrR | April 11, 2008 8:36 PM

If you read the whole thing and put it into it's correct context then only Clinton (The LIAR canidate) supporters and McBush (The OLD Angry White War Monger that hasbeen FLIP FOPPING A lotlately) supporters are making a big deal out of this. They wouldn't vote for him anyways. He speaks the TRUTH , it's hard for them to understand this as they do not know how to do this

http://www.jedreport.com/2008/04/hillary-clint-4.html#disqus_thread
CLINTON IS A LIAR and that is a FACT!!!

Posted by TR | April 11, 2008 8:37 PM

finally, Obama's macaca moment! prediction: HUGE loss in PA, momentum shifts big time to HIllary. She overtakes him in the popular vote giving super-delegates all the excuses they need to jump off the Obama band-wagon.

Posted by lex | April 11, 2008 8:47 PM

lex: Obama may have stepped in it with this one, but seriously, what the hell are you smoking that would lead you to believe that this one statement will win Hillary the campaign?

Posted by firebrand | April 11, 2008 8:57 PM

from swimming freestyle:

"Barack Obama is a remarkably eloquent man and turning into a remarkably capable politician. But if the Senator believes it's smart to insult voters from a state critical to your success, he's hit one of the worst false notes yet in his campaign.

Yeah, I know what his campaign said, and that may have been what he meant. But a sophisticated candidate doesn't refer to voters in language that can be construed as derogatory or insulting. Obama asserted Pennsylvania voters are bitter and so simple and lacking in maturity and intelligence that they address their frustration by clinging to primitive and reactionary crutches rather than addressing their problems in constructive ways.

It's divisive. And not the way to attract the voters you need most."

http://swimmingfreestyle.typepad.com

Posted by Jay McDonough | April 11, 2008 9:15 PM

Definition of "gaffe": when a politician tells the truth.
Not sure who said this originally, but I think it was Michael Kinsley.
This is why I like Obama, and why others like him - he tells the truth. Times are tough for a lot of people in small towns - and they are very cynical about politics. However, if you read the whole quote, Obama's not putting down small towns, he's understanding their frustrations.
Get a grip people!

Posted by Jocelyn | April 11, 2008 9:18 PM

Why the hell is he in Frisco at a private fundraiser. Can't they just be cool with the online thing and not turn the candidate loose without a script in a safe Dem state where the primary is already over. Big f-up Ax & Plouffe.

Posted by Mike | April 11, 2008 9:31 PM

firebrand: This one statement is the tipping point. Obama's biggest challenge right now (in the superdelegate war) is proving that he can be competitive with white working class voters. He's been bowling and drinking beer, etc. trying to connect. PA is a big test for him. He doesn't need to win it obviously but he needs to show he can pick up enough of these base voters (Reagan democrats, etc) to compete with McCain. McCain (as Republicans always do) will run on "patriotism" and "being a regular stand-up guy." It's all BS but it works. "G.D. America" + "finally proud to be an American" + "they cling to guns or religion" = not so patriotic and not so regular guy. It worked against Gore and Kerry and those were harder sells.

but back to how Hillary wins the primary. She finally has something she can use against Obama that won't be politically incorrect. All those undecided voters in PA will probably shift her way. If she racks up big margins in PA, WV, KY, PR and stays competitive in the other primary states, she will overtake Obama in the popular vote (even without FL). She might even take MT and SD now. Depending on the voting patterns in remaining states, Obama may start to look unelectable, or significantly less electable than Clinton. The votes have been increasingly polarized in recent contests. And, believe it or not (because it seems like a million years ago), we haven't actually had a primary since the whole Rev. Wright scandal came out. I hate to be a pessimist but I think this is the beginning of the end.

Posted by lex | April 11, 2008 9:42 PM

Lex,

I hate to use personal insults, but I'm afraid I must. You are either the poorest prognosticator I know, a troll, or an idiot. I'm not sure which yet.

Posted by LnGrrrR | April 12, 2008 12:30 AM

Obama will probably win the nomination but I don't think he'll win in November. Believe me I hope I'm wrong. We can't afford another Republican administration.

Posted by Lex | April 12, 2008 12:46 AM