2008 Woodie Awards
Obama's populist message fails to sway citizenry
Issue date: 4/15/08 Section: OpEd Page
Sen. Barack Obama's (D-Ill.) most recent campaign trail gaffe highlights an alarming trend that continues to paint the junior senator from Illinois as an out-of-touch liberal elitist. At a fundraiser in San Francisco Sunday, Obama summed up his troubles of winning the white working-class vote due to poor economic conditions, "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."
This quote poses multiple problems for Obama. First, it shows that the Illinois senator will pander to specific audiences in an attempt to satisfy the current needs of his campaign. It's easy to bring up preconceived stereotypes of the citizens of one state when he is hundreds of miles away at a posh fundraiser in another state with extremely wealthy donors gawking over his every word. It's even easier to make comments such as these when he is told the fundraiser is private and closed to the press, as it was supposed to be, because he us able to express his true feelings without repercussion.
Telling wealthy, ultra-liberal San Franciscans that small-town Pennsylvanians and Midwesterners are "bitter" because of their economic situation and only cling to their guns and God shows just how out-of-touch Obama is with ordinary, everyday Americans. Obama could not have chosen a more fitting location to make such an arrogant statement because San Francisco is not exactly what I would call the "heart of America."
How does Obama expect to carry a message of hope all the way to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. if he belittles the ordinary Americans whose votes he needs to get him there? God plays an important role in the everyday lives of millions of Americans not because of some economic woe they are currently facing, but rather because it gives their lives meaning and purpose. Democratic strategist Dave Saunders summed it up best when he said, "I don't have a gun because I'm bitter; it's because I've always had one. I don't pray to God because I'm bitter; I pray to God because it makes my life better." And for once I actually agreed with Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) when she said in response to Obama's comment, "People don't need a president who looks down on them, they need a president who stands up for them." Sounds like Clinton would agree that Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) is the person for the job.
This quote poses multiple problems for Obama. First, it shows that the Illinois senator will pander to specific audiences in an attempt to satisfy the current needs of his campaign. It's easy to bring up preconceived stereotypes of the citizens of one state when he is hundreds of miles away at a posh fundraiser in another state with extremely wealthy donors gawking over his every word. It's even easier to make comments such as these when he is told the fundraiser is private and closed to the press, as it was supposed to be, because he us able to express his true feelings without repercussion.
Telling wealthy, ultra-liberal San Franciscans that small-town Pennsylvanians and Midwesterners are "bitter" because of their economic situation and only cling to their guns and God shows just how out-of-touch Obama is with ordinary, everyday Americans. Obama could not have chosen a more fitting location to make such an arrogant statement because San Francisco is not exactly what I would call the "heart of America."
How does Obama expect to carry a message of hope all the way to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. if he belittles the ordinary Americans whose votes he needs to get him there? God plays an important role in the everyday lives of millions of Americans not because of some economic woe they are currently facing, but rather because it gives their lives meaning and purpose. Democratic strategist Dave Saunders summed it up best when he said, "I don't have a gun because I'm bitter; it's because I've always had one. I don't pray to God because I'm bitter; I pray to God because it makes my life better." And for once I actually agreed with Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) when she said in response to Obama's comment, "People don't need a president who looks down on them, they need a president who stands up for them." Sounds like Clinton would agree that Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) is the person for the job.
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