blueflame1 wrote:Obama makes a molehill out of a mountain
"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."
Aside from the fact that there hasn't been a singular (let alone plural) administration succeeding the Bush administration (which last time I checked was still in place), there is nothing wrong with Obama acknowledging that folks in economically depressed or even stagnant regions have reason to be displeased.
It is quite another thing to define that displeasure in the terms Obama used.
First of all, since when is clinging to guns, clinging to religion, bigotry and protectionism interchangeable?
Secondly, since when is clinging to religion a sure sign of bitterness?
Thirdly, the clear implication in Obama's remarks is that the folks in these towns, are gun toting, bigoted, xenophobic and protectionist religious zealots to begin with, and he is merely explaining why such a sorry state is understandable.
All the smarmy retorts he has mustered in the face of his opponents obviously gleeful exploitation of his incredibly insensitive comments have hardly swept this screw-up under the rug. Only his most passionate supporters are able to fashion goggles that let them see it in such a way.
These comments were pre-planned. They were not an off the cuff gaffe. When a candidate delivers comments to which he gave prior thought, they are entirely reliable as indications of his thinking.
Clearly, Obama believes an appreciation for guns is a bad thing, born of bitter frustration. Not much of a surprise, but is it a surprise that he also believes that a reliance on religion is a product of the same negative emotion? This from the man who falls all over himself to lay claim to the virtues of Christianity and a solid position in his Church.
Somehow I suspect that we could dig up comments from the same person that suggest bigotry and xenophobia are not justified by personal misfortune, and if we can't, that certainly tells us something too.
The more
The Expected One tries to speak in other than mindless platitudes, the more his deficiencies are revealed. Better for him to stick to the Revivalist Tent Meetings, and lay off any forum that requires him to actually address specific issues.
Finally, his pathetic "I know you are but what am I?" responses to Clinton and McCain further reveal there is really nothing special about this guy, and certainly nothing that departs from politics as usual.
