Obama on Small-Town Pennsylvania...

[elcorazon]

Politico's Ben Smith has quoted this from Huffington Post blogger Mayhill Fowler.  His article, of course, has now made it onto Drudge.  I quote from the original article, but have linked both:

http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0408/Obama_on_smalltown_PA_Clinging_religion_guns_xenophobia.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mayhill-fowler/obama-no-surprise-that-ha_b_96188.html

And when he spoke to a group of his wealthier Golden State backers at a San Francisco fund-raiser last Sunday, Barack Obama took a shot at explaining the yawning cultural gap that separates a Turkeyfoot from a Marin County.

"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," Obama said.

"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."
Thoughts?

seems pretty accurate.

[elcorazon]

He has such insight to say such things. If people voted without hate and fear, we've never elect a Republican.

agreed

[elcorazon]

Pay and benefits at the 'high tech' jobs you fantasize about do not remotely match those provided by working in a steel mill 35 years ago.

Well we can't really return to being an industrial economy much easier than we could return to being an agrarian state.  Standard of living has gone up across the board in the last 35 years, even in steel areas, so I don't know how much one can complain.

Actually it has not.  Median incomes per capita are much lower for the working class.  The only reason they have (almost) maintained their consumption is the wife is forced to work now.

Also aside from the problem of falling income, the huge increase in insecurety and the massive loss of benefits has been just as damaging.  Of course all this could be solved by a generous dole and national health care, but those that control will not allow it.

Not in these newer industries, and there were seasonal layoffs in the steel industry dating back to the 1960's if not before.  It was never "secure."  That is what Retrobama wants to return to.

Wow.  J.J.  I am a bit surprised at this. Never thought you were so reactionary.  Seriously, you are gleaning an incredible amount from these comments.

Were these comments bad for Obama politically?  YES
Were they indicative of much beyond mere bad publicity?  Not really
Were they even close to as impacting as the Wright controversy? No way

Only taken in conjunction with Wright, as a bloom is off the Obama rose kinda thing do I really see this being much of a story.  Seriously, grasping to make this  a story is mostly what I see.

All that said, I'm still of the opinion that the Wright flak may have hindered Obama enough to allow mccain to win in November.

sigh.

[elcorazon]

Pay and benefits at the 'high tech' jobs you fantasize about do not remotely match those provided by working in a steel mill 35 years ago.

Well we can't really return to being an industrial economy much easier than we could return to being an agrarian state.  Standard of living has gone up across the board in the last 35 years, even in steel areas, so I don't know how much one can complain.

Actually it has not.  Median incomes per capita are much lower for the working class.  The only reason they have (almost) maintained their consumption is the wife is forced to work now.

Also aside from the problem of falling income, the huge increase in insecurety and the massive loss of benefits has been just as damaging.  Of course all this could be solved by a generous dole and national health care, but those that control will not allow it.

Not in these newer industries, and there were seasonal layoffs in the steel industry dating back to the 1960's if not before.  It was never "secure."  That is what Retrobama wants to return to.

Wow.  J.J.  I am a bit surprised at this. Never thought you were so reactionary.  Seriously, you are gleaning an incredible amount from these comments.

Because I'm not only from the area, I use to hold public office in that area.  I still have friends there.

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In this case, Obama was saying it, not someone else.  If you recall, I was critical of Obama's response and his putting Wright in the campaign, but not of him being in Wright's congregation.  That Wright has some strange ideas doesn't bother me; that Obama does.

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I'm not that critical of Obama over Wright; at best it shows how he handles crisis situation (minor ones).  It's important only because Obama doesn't have a great record of crisis situations.

This one deals with Obama's view of the country, Obamality, and it doesn't resemble reality.

you see, I don't think it does... at least not much.  I think Obama was talking politics.  He was explaining not why people focus on guns and god and immigration on a day to day basis, but why they use it to base their votes rather than focusing on more "political" issues.  I dunno.  Seems you've taken a few ill-chosen words and made it prove some sort of overall philosophy of the entire country.  Seems a stretch. 

I mean if Hillary can get tired and make up personal stories out of whole cloth, why can't barack choose words poorly to make a point during a fundraiser knowing his audience wouldn't call him on it.

a mistake, sure.  but you make it seem like he's committed a crime or something.