I find it funny that Hillary Clinton has been trying to use Sen. Obama's comments against him. If you have not heard the full quote, Obama said:
"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 going to regenerate and they have not," he said.
"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,"
Yes. Some could construe this as an elitist statement, but hey, Hillary did tell of her Mission Impossible esque landing amid snipers in Kosovo. Do you think she was playing to the crowd? Some could construe that as patronism. We all know that didn't really happen.
What about how Pennsylvanians felt about it. Those were the people Obama was talking about. Well,
"Shawn Erfman lives in a trailer park, listens to Rush Limbaugh and voted for George W. Bush -- twice. Over the weekend, he heard all about what Barack Obama had to say about "bitter" Pennsylvanians like himself. And he's mad as hell.
Not at the guy you might expect, though. "It's fucking true," he said Monday night. "Everybody's bitter for one reason or another. So they're crucifying him because he spoke the truth? Cause he's not saying something that's going to suck up to people and kiss ass? Because, what, he slipped and accidentally spoke the truth, instead of kissing butt?"
[here's the link] http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2008/04/16/bitter/
Oddly enough the irony doesn't stop there. A CBS News report stated that," The Clinton campaign handed out "I'm not bitter" stickers in North Carolina, and held a conference call of Pennsylvania mayors to denounce the Illinois senator. In Indiana, Clinton did the work herself, telling plant workers in Indianapolis that Obama's comments were "elitist and out of touch."
Obama? elitist and out of touch? Some, including me, feel that Clinton's assertions of "executive experience" is elitist and out of touch, I mean, what did she do for eight years that would qualify her time as experience? serve as Assistant Secretary of the Navy during World War I? legitimize the Red Cross? No, that was Eleanor Roosevelt. Why didn't she run for president?
The real point is this. Why are we not talking about the real issues. Because when it comes Jan. 20th 2009, who ever is sworn in on that day will usher in a new Administration, with new agendas. I don't know about you but, I haven't heard anything new from Mrs. Clinton. I haven't heard her stand up and say something that people might not agree with. That scares me. That leads me to believe that she has yet to really show her true colors. These things cannot be said about Obama, or McCain.
I like Mrs. Clinton, but I feel she is being what ever it takes for her to stay in the race. The truth is, it takes an elitist to truly belive that he/she can run an entire country. Those aren't the asperations of everyday people. I wish this years candidates, Obama included, would put away the photo-op bowling sessions, and bar crawls. Lets stick to the issues, because come 2009, it wont matter who's pastor said what in 2008. All that will matter is that the right person has the job.
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...they cling to guns....
As a former resident of small-town Pennsylvania, I can tell you exactly why "they cling to guns."
Guns = food.
My step dad is disabled and lives on social security while my mom, like the rest of the people in the area, drives 30 miles each way to work every day for an $8/hour job. They live pretty much paycheck to paycheck (most of which going to gas to go to work and get groceries). To supplement both the food and the money, my step dad hunts, traps, and fishes. He regularly sells beaver hides in the fur trade and puts meat on the table in the form of fish, venison, and squirrel.
I am treated as evil by people who claim that they are being oppressed because they are not allowed to force me to practice what they do. ~D. Dale Gulledge
I wish these candidates would grow up and start talking about the things that matter. Instead, they bicker back and forth and attack each other. Slinging mud on somebody else's reputation doesn't make yours all spic-n-span, so Hillary and Obama need to focus less on each other and more on the country.
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This is a signature, an automated thingy that pops up when I comment, not a demand to see my blog!
Mind Control is Easier Than You Think
agreed. Both comments were real-life responses to this election cycle.
Honestly, I think the one who comes out of this looking the best is Sen. McCain. He gets to sit back and occasionally put his two cents in, and at the same time stay out of the mud-slinging. Doesn't it seem funny that Fox is the main network dragging all these supposed controversies out.
"my first name must be, "He aint sh@t", cause everytime I come through, yall be like "He aint sh@t"!....I'll be dat" --Redman
"Anything that can go wrong, Will go wrong"----Murphy's Law
Honestly, I only think Sen. McCain looks the best because I know nothing about him at all. At least with Obama and Clinton I know a few tidbits of info. With McCain, I'm completely clueless. I'll blame that on both myself and the media coverage.
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This is a signature, an automated thingy that pops up when I comment, not a demand to see my blog!
Mind Control is Easier Than You Think
They're doing all the work for him. McCain won't even have to campaign after Barack and Hilary finish with each other.
http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/ediblewoman
Thank you for zooming out and acknowleding the wider issues. It seems like when you're in one of the two major parties you're bombarded by these "gotcha"s. But when you're out of the system, the media won't listen to the sustenance (e.g. Ralph Nader), because they think we'd rather dig infotainment--- we're too stupid to comprehend or to be enthused by real policy engagement.
I think the American People are smarter than that. Thank you for your advancement of this view.
"I understand that this car is pretty expensive but it has more to it than any Ferrari can give to our earth and people." -- crystalcraze13, a ProU blogger