Questions, Questions
A surprisingly good look at the potential damage Barack Obama has done to himself with his "small town" comments comes from the New York Times this morning. There is a bit of identity politics claptrap in the article, but generally, it is quite honest in looking at the reaction of Pennsylvania voters to the controversy.
Cindy Phillips, 54, a flight attendant from Leetsdale, Pa., said she had intended to vote for Mrs. Clinton before the latest feud developed. But she said her position was solidified by Mr. Obama’s remarks that many small-town Pennsylvania voters, “bitter” over their economic circumstances, “cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them.”
“He just doesn’t know Pennsylvania,” Ms. Phillips said in an interview. “People here are religious because that’s their background, not because they’re mad about jobs.”…..
……“It seems he’s kind of ripping on small towns, and I’m a small town girl,” said Becki Farmer, 32, who lives in Rochester, Pa., another Ohio River town hit hard by the closed steel mills. “That’s where your good morals and good judgment come from, growing up in small towns.”
Indeed, advisers to Mr. Obama concede, his job has been made that much more complicated by his remarks about bitterness among small-town voters. Though it remains unclear what effect the episode will have in the long run, it has suddenly prompted a series of questions — and worry — from Democrats about whether Mr. Obama could weather a Republican onslaught in the fall, should he win the presidential nomination.
The Times does try to paint this all in terms of Obama's race. But, frankly, I don't see that component in this flap at all. This is people reacting to the words of the candidate, not to any physical attribute that candidate has. That is exactly as it should be. Even Obama says that he does not see a racial component in this, just politics.
By martian, Wednesday, 16 April , 2008 @ 1:56 pm
To liberals, everything is about race. As long as a black (or half black) candidate is involved, they will portray him as the victim of bigotry every chance they get. This activates the "victim" mentality and also the "guilt" of white folks - a two barreled approach. What could be better?
No, my "half black" remark was not bigotry. I just find it hilarious that the "sensitive" liberals have taken up the old real bigoted attitude that if a person had any "black blood" then they were black - period - and should be treated as such. Thus Obama, a true mixed race individual with one white and one black parent, has become the "black" candidate in this election - and they make darn sure you are aware of it every single day.