Obama: Pennsylvanians are bitter, cling to guns and religion

[greggh]

http://hotair.com/archives/2008/04/11/o ... religious/

Obama was quoted as saying...

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.

McCain team responds...

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.”

Hillary responds...

“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.”

So what do our 4 hosts from PA think of this?

[Tsuroerusu]

I just saw on digg that Obama responded to his rivals' responses: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sc9PepjyDow

Speaking of being bitter, I'm still bitter about my country's participation the war in Iraq (Our state minister is a George W. Bush fanboy, Apple-style) !

[Wally Balljacker]

For what it's worth, I don't even see what's so offensive about this. When you read it in context it doesn't sound that bad.

In a month from now, nobody will even remember this. These sorts of things don't have a very long shelf life. Either people forget, or something new comes along that grabs their attention. Does anyone still care about that Jeremiah Wright thing, or Hillary's sniper comment? Exactly. Every couple of weeks something comes out, the news media make a big fuss about it, and move onto the next slip up or what have you.

I'm so tired of this race, I wish the Dems would pick a damn nominee already and get ready for the general in November.

[Patrick]

Disclaimer: I don't like Obama. I'm backing McCain as his views are closer to mine and that's generally how I pick my candidates in elections. I don't agree with him 100% but he's a lot closer to my views than both Clinton and Obama. As far as his comments. Yes, PA is a gun state. There is a long tradition of hunting in this state as there are some very rural (and quite beautiful) areas. Even the liberals own guns. Are the people here more religious than other states? I don't think so. This country leans centrist/right. I really believe Obama is more liberal than he's portraying himself in this election campagin. IF he wins the Democratic nomination this will certainly come out before the general election. He has apparently has closed the gap in PA but comments like this will not help his cause. Don't be shocked if Hillary wins by 5-10 points in PA.