Barack Obama tries to turn the page

"I'm tired of playing defense all the time," Barack Obama said this morning. "I want to play some offense."

It's a line he has used many times in speaking to labor groups. But it resonated a bit differently today.

Obama has spent the last few days back on his heels, absorbing furious punishment from the campaigns of Hillary Clinton and John McCain over his "bitter" remarks in San Francisco.

Today, Obama spoke to about 3,000 union members, gathered in Washington for the Building & Construction Trades Department's annual legislative meeting. Clinton appears before the group Wednesday.

Obama spent much of his speech focused on labor-friendly issues that elicited extended applause: opposing "right-to-work" laws, encouraging union organization and expressing skepticism about global trade deals.

But eventually he addressed the tempest of the moment, his statements regarding small-town America. In Obama's most recent equation, road-tested Monday night in Pennsylvania, "bitter" now means "angry," which when coupled with "hope" equals "Obama."

"I said people were bitter," Obama said. "People seemed to misunderstand. Yes, people are angry. If you've been filling up your gas tank, you're angry.

"You've got to feel some frustration. You've got to feel some anger," he said, "when you get the sense that the ...

American way of life for so many people is slipping away."

But, he said, that was "not a reason to give up hope."

In his most direct shot at Clinton, whom he never specifically mentioned, he said: "If anyone denies that people are frustrated and angry and, yes, sometimes bitter, then they are out of touch."

He reserved most of his criticism for McCain, whom he took to task for reversing his stand on repealing President Bush's tax cuts for wealthy Americans.

Obama was introduced by Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri, who made much of Obama's common touch, speaking well-worn lines about him turning down a job on Wall Street to become a community organizer in Chicago and about how he and his wife, Michelle, took years to repay student loans.

"He turned down the big money," McCaskill said. "He went to do what was right for our country."

In that vein, Obama told the crowd: "You can trust me. Politics didn't lead me to working people. Working people led me to politics."

After the speech, a group of painters and union members from Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee said that, in their view, Obama had made short work of the "bitter" controversy.

"I thought he handled that real well," said Robert Liphard.

"He's done it right," said Jarrell Miskenen. "He got right back on it."

Liphard added: "What I'd like to see is a combined ticket." He said who was first or second on that ticket didn't matter.

-- James Oliphant

James Oliphant of the Chicago Tribune's Washington bureau writes for the Swamp.

Comments

[Ann]

As far as I am concerned, I'm through with Hillary. She and Bill have shown their true colors. They are evil and ruthless. I'll vote for McCain if she takes/steals this election from Obama. I will shout it to the roof tops.
I'm bitter and angry!

[72WhiteGrandMother]

The"Guide" ad should also be on TV in Pensylvania and other states.
Hillary has been taking advantage of voters ignorance and must be stopped aggresively. Imagine what they are trying to make out of Obama's recent statement? I believe Obama should attack her also on her Bosnia lies and the contents of her tax returns. Let's finish this race now!
http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/guide_ad

[Robert Lewis]

A former Obama client, Ahmad Baravati, changed the name of his tax exempt organization IRAN EARTHQUAKE RELIEF FUND to American Care Society

www.webofdeception.com

[Robert]

Considering that Sen. Obama has received $1.18 million from subprime lenders and has taken more campaign contributions from the top ten issuers of subprime loans that attack rings hollow as just words. Sen. Obama has a record of talking about standing up to special interests and then caving to their demands. Hillary has a 35-year record of standing up to special interests and delivering results.

Obama has taken $1,180,103 from the top issuers of subprime loans:
Obama received $266,907 from Lehman.
Obama received $5395 from GMAC.
Obama received $150,850 from CS First Boston .
Obama received $11,250 from Countrywide.
Obama received $90,520 from Washington Mutual.
Obama received $161,850 from Citigroup.
Obama received $4600 from CBASS.
Obama received $170,050 from Morgan Stanley. [Cq.com]
Obama received $1150 from Centex. [Cq.com]
Obama received $351,900 from Goldman Sachs.

These Are MAJOR conflicts of interest regarding Obama''s purported "Small money sources"!

Obama has gotten all that ''Influence/Lobbiest'' money from sub-prime lenders and from other major corporations, which If even partly true, then Obama is "misrepresenting Where Contributions come from".
Something sure smells rotten here.
How is Obama gonna cover and hide from all this now?

[Tony]

No Wonder we are Bitter ......And this explains who is out of touch with Americans , its Clintons and the Republicans that keep making money
from these trade policies that forget the American People so what kind of Leadership is this, favoring Big Biz , letting them Import Tariff Free from a Country that manipulates its currency so we Americans cannot compete , but the Big Biz gets to make money off the Currency exchange of the Imports Who is B.S.ing Who here ?????? Bitter , Hell Yes we American Blue Collar working class people , PEOPLE yes You SUITS we are People too , not just Consumers that are used in statistics and analyzed for our Spending power , my God Bitter doesn't explain the Mindset well enough !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
US deep in debt and still digging
You're paying for the nation's debt addiction through both direct and indirect taxes. And unfortunately, Uncle Sam is going to need more money.

www.articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/JubaksJournal/USDeepInDebtAndStillDigging.aspx
Foreclosures continue to soar, worst is not over
Filings up 57 percent in March over ’07; ARM resets to crest in May and June

www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24115651

But the Middlemen of these Trade agreement , now they make net money from these deal in any form , as we see below ;

What a Story! Candidate Personally Receives Hundreds of Thousands From Foreign Sources, Private Interests
www.huffingtonpost.com/rj-eskow/what-a-story-candidate-pe_b_96052.html

Huge Kazakh deal follows financier's trip with Clinton, precedes donation .

www.nytimes.com/2008/01/31/us/politics/31donor.html?ex=1359435600&en=33a4d96a239655bf&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

www.archive.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2003/12/12/25043.shtml

[freedom_diva]

Hope to me is Hillary Clinton. Not a man who is so greedy that he would get into bed with the likes of Rezko.
Just weeks after winning the Democratic U.S. Senate primary in 2004, Barack Obama was the guest of developer Antoin "Tony" Rezko at a party for a controversial British billionaire whom Rezko was trying to lure into an investment, a witness testified Monday at Rezko's corruption trial.

Stuart Levine, the government's star witness, said Obama and his wife, Michelle, were among the guests at Rezko's home on April 3, 2004, for the party honoring Nadhmi Auchi, an Iraqi-born tycoon currently appealing a fraud conviction in France.

As he campaigns for president, Obama has acknowledged social and political ties to Rezko, as well as a real estate deal between the two that involved Obama's South Side home. But Obama has not disclosed his presence at the Auchi party, which Rezko threw as part of a campaign to persuade Auchi to pour money into a financially troubled 62-acre development in the South Loop.

NOW COME ON>>>> would he please stand up and quit hiding... he KNOWS that the party was for Auchi.. after all that is what he wanted to do... MAKE MONEY!!!!
Obama is just a greedy as the rest of them.

He is sick of being on the defence... well then get off DE fence and quit LYING!!!!

[andrew frost]

glad to see some understand that just because Obama says the things the others are scared of does not make him wrong.

[Christopher Brown]

Hillary is a snake. If she steals the election from Obama, I'll vote for Ralph Spoilsport Nader.

[Ken]

LOL....You guys just don't get it! Obama campaign set all of this up. Do you really think they didnt know the lady from the HUFFINGTON POST was recording in there. They new that it would be easy to cover up, plus lower his expectations in PA, plus make Hillary attack him, so he can attack back. Hillary and her dumb supporters took the bate and so did John The 100 McCain. I used to support Clinton until i saw how stupid her campaign is. John the 100 and Hillary fell for the Rev Wright crap. Don't you know that was going to come out anyways, what's the odds of that coming out in the longest space between two primarys. What's the odds of this "Bittergate" coming out over the weekend. You guys are idots if you think this wasnt a strategy. Now look at him, so his poll numbers are dropping in PA. BIG DEAL! he wasnt going to win there anyways. But, what he has successfully done is make Hillary out a "Republican Manchurian" candidate. He is fundrasing off of this now. Go to his website. He will come out of this untouched, minor blemish in the polls, with higher respect from the Superdelegates, because "he made it through another battle with the republicans." Thank God, im an independent if i were a republican i would be really scared because facing this guy. You are in some trouble. Why? He wins because both democrats and republicans underestimate his machivellian style, remember he is a Chicago politician. Good Luck. DEMS AND REPUB

[Peter Nanula]

What about Hillary and Bill's $109 million in the last 5 years? Think she is really in touch with the common folk of Pennsylvania? Nice job keeping that, and the Bosnia heroics, out of the headlines recently...

The nastier Hillary's up-against-the-wall tactics get, the more people hate her. The more you watch and listen to Barack, the more you like him.

Game over in early June. Even the super-delegates have had enough of this nonsense. We have a JFK in our midst, and everyone knows it.

[Adam]

Yeah. He also shook hand with someone who 10 years later had a parking ticket! That boy is bad!

Give me a break.

[IJ for Hillary]

The more I read or hear that Obama did not take wall street job and instead, joined community work in Southside Chicago, the more suspicious I am of his intent - was it a service minded plan or a grand scheme for a short-cut to get to the Top Job!

[BB]

The whole thing has been completely over-played. I read quite a poignant article about this lunacy over the remark, on the Huffington Post today and that made this grown, professional woman tearful, just remembering how mean-minded media can be.

The incident also demonstrated to the observing world, what a bigoted and unenlightened place America really is. After the Iraq invasion, I don't think that the world needs any more reminder of how undemocratic America can be. This insane media's effort to push Obama off stage will just put a finishing touch in the world opinion as a final proof of what they already believe. It really has been sad few days for American journalism.

[lex coleman]

Truth is the Heartland IS bitter...bitter over jobs going to Mexico, bitter that textitle mills have moved to bangladesh, bitter steel is being imported from China...

[dee]

I think that Barack is the real 'Bitter' person. He seems like an unhappy person and he needs mental help. He is practically cracking up now when he speaks.

If he can not take the pressure now, how can he take the pressure when he is president of the US!

[A Taylor]

Americans are a lot smarter than Hillalry and McCain realizes. To deny what is apparent is what I call being out of touch. As a working class ciitzen, I am bitter and angry because: I am tired of living from pay check to pay check and when I get a second job, IRS penalizes me for making more money.

American please read their nonesense rhetoric and also read above the lines and between the lines.

[Alma Ludivina]

Senator Obama has never said anithing wrong.

Senator Clinton was drooling to act like over-indulgent grandmother to protect her "whimpy" "hypersensitive" rural town workers from pennsylvania.

She was lurking for any opportunity to congratiate with the people that has been deprived of opportunity by Politician without scruples like the Clinton who made 109 million and still attempt an evasion of taxes with a "clinton fundation" accepting money indiscriminated including from China, and other sources we are unawhere.

Court is awaiting for her to finish the race. Too many privileges for someone. Court do not wait for a regular american. IRS do not wait for a regular american

Rural worker from pennsylvania are though americans who accept criticism, and want change.

Rural workers from pennsylvania do not need to be smothered by Mrs. Clinton.

She "gain" texas votes by placing a seed of fear in the mind of many latinos by placing Senator obama with kenia attire. Then she "loses texas" because delegates relized about the mind manipulation and choose Senator Obama.

She gain Iowa because She told Iowans that she was against free trade, then It happens that she was the one who spoke with canadians about NAFTA, her husband and manager were pro-trade.

How Iowans feel about, She laughed in their face and took their vote, and their state. Iowans were betrayed by someone with no scruples.

Now in pennsylvamia the same pattern, Mrs Clinton erratic behavior is unexcusable. She is not acting like a serious politician.

She is dragging Senator obama through mud and feces with her tactics. Male Dogs has a bone in the penis, and are unable to finish intercourse until that penis is deflated,

Unfortunally Senator obama is stock to his woman until the race heat is over

She is ill representing women, People must know that there is women outthere with integrity, with morals, with education, articulate, with intelligence, hard workers, with dignity, and assertive.

[BarryManilow]

Elect Clinton to allow her to complete what her husband's administration started long ago. Selling out Corporate America to the Sovereign Funds. They got rich doing it before, and they can't wait to get back in the game again. The Chinese government wants you to pick Clinton - don't be fooled by her recent ranting that she wouldn't attend the opening ceremony. That's just a front and China knows it.

[JimSeattle]

Obama is going to have his turn to make the big bucks if he wins or loses this election. The Clinton's earnings are going to look like chump change -- but that is all OK, because he is BHO

[onlytruth]

I am so done with Hill and Bill.

Billary needs to be Bushed. Bring in Monica and likes of hers. Remind voters " I did not have sex with that woman" and many more lies of the clintons.

Remind voters who Bill will be doing if he is back in the White house.

Enough.

[Ralph]

Why are these remarks called bitter? What they sound to be is Obama mocking people who foolishly still believe in God, the 2nd Amendment etc. Anyone not supporting Obama must have no reasonable basis for their opposition or views and are just clinging to those outmoded views as they are not bright or sophisticated enough to know how good Obama is. I guess we should just trust him completely.

[Dennis Francis]

Corporations do not give money directly. It is against the law.
That is why money is bundled. Mr. Obama has about 1million doners. No other candidate in history has ever done that.

Please state your sources when posting your "facts".

[KC]

"You can trust me" - anytime any politician tells you this get as far away from them as you can. How many times have you heard someone say "you can trust me" only to find out they lied?

[Katy]

Oh please - woe is Obama?? Poor picked on Obama?? He made a classic elitist liberal mistake - he said what he really thought about the poor working slob.

Then he tries to fix it by saying he's not rich - neither are a lot of other intellectual elitists - they just think they're smarter than everyone else - and Obama is trying to blame those who don't vote for him by telling them they're ignorant.

I always knew Obama was a con man - and each day he proves it.

[Bob]

I am a strong supporter of Senator Obama but I think Senator Obama should begin to show that he can play hard ball in the big league. Since these recent attacks from Hillary are the exact GOP tactics he will be faced with shoulds he becomes the nominee he needs to show PA and the world that he CAN effectively fight back at the GOP attach machine which is just starting to get warmed up.

Letting Hillary off the mat with the "Bosina gaft" was a misstake that has cost him. He needs to learn how to beat his opponants head against the floor when he's down and not be the "gentleman" and give his opponant a chance to get back up.

Until he learns how to effectively fight back against these kinds of attacks he will lose the confidence of his supporters the party leaders and most importantly the Super Delegates.

Senator Barack Obama please show us you have the guts to FIGHT back this is your chance, PA and the world wants you to.

The real question is can you deliver what it takes to "close the deal" that is the question everyone is now asking themself!

[Ron]

With all of the insight these bloggers have, I am surprised that more of them are not working for the CIA. Except for the automated robot blogs for Hillary that show up 2 or 3 times on every discussion, when they have nothing to do with the article.

[Erik Ostermueller]

Could someone post the sources for the $ amounts posted by "Robert" on April 15, 2008 at 10:39 AM?

Thanks,

--Erik Ostermueller

[bruce becker]

57% of the public believes Bill will be running things behind the scenes. no third term. Period. She is not Evita.
Peron was dead when Evita ran for Argentine president.

[rosie]

I can only hope that Americans can rise to the occasion, and not be bamboozled by the Mc-Hillary hype. Anyone who has read either of Obama's books about his life knows where he stands, values-wise, who he has sacrificed for, and what he believes in -- which is participatory democracy. He wants to re-configure the power structure to restore government to the PEOPLE, not special interests.
So, carry on Hillary - trying to make people forget about your intentional lies about Bosnia --
The truth will set us all free. It ain't always pretty, but we need to face facts so we can find solutions to our problems.
Carry on, Barack! We're with you....

[Kathy]

Oh please, Obama's time of playing defense has just begun.

[earl]

I wonder why a lot of people cannot see up to now the obvious implication and meaning of Obama's "bitter" fiasco.
Isn't it obvious that he was making a comparison of his 20 year spiritual adviser Rev. Wright's bitter and passionate comments about the black experience? In other words Obama was putting side by side the white blue collar workers and the the black american members of his church. Furfthermore he was implying that it is okay for everyone , regardless of race, to be bitter and angry. He just could not believe that others outside his church, specially the blue collor workers of Pennsylvania and other states, have different moral values. Obama, correctly, is out of touch.

[Greg Vanderford]

In response to Roberts information about Obama accepting lobbyist money, all I have to say is this: Obama has already raised hundreds of millions of dollars from more donors than anyone in history. $1.8 million from lobbyist hardly makes a difference, and is indeed a laughably small sum not only compared to his total money earned through donations but compared to any and all other politicians. How is Obama going to hide from that information you ask? He doesn't have to. He will win, and he will do it telling more truth than any other politician in a generation, even if he does have to backpedal sometimes due to unreasonable sifting of his words by the petty and inferior opponents of his

[Mary]

Obama is finally showing his true colors - he's a FAKE. Funny thing is his supporters are so blind. Are they so blind that they don't want to admit that he could be wrong or wrong for our country? He just completely insulted so many people behind closed doors in a fund raising event and got busted, but yet he blames others for calling him out on it. He did this to himself - no one else did this to him. Wake up people!

[Jondo369]

Too funny!
Obama already managed 'offense' with the "bitter" comments. But I'm sure that he's capable of more of the same. He's catching up to the Clintons in 'nuance' and 'explanations' and campaign 'eruptions' and outright lies - we're getting to know you, Obama!

He won't lose the Democratic nomination because his base has no idea what's wrong.
But in the general Obama will repaint the electoral map in Republican red!

[John McKeatingFive]

"Hillary has a 35-year record of standing up to special interests and delivering results."

I like how they didn't mention that hillary had more lobbyists backing her than ALL THE REPUBLICANS COMBINED. She won't do jack about special interests.

[CleanFeeling]

Meet the new boss,
Same as the old boss

Vote for real change
http://www.lp.org

[Josh]

Yes, I'm bitter and angry when I fill my truck and always late on my rent payments because jobs are hard to find these days. And we spend $ Billions in Iraq!. I guess, Clinton and McCain would like me to smile in my present situation. They're out of touch.

[Dr. Dave]

Sounds like Barak's gettin tired of tap-dancing around all his "misspoken", "boneheaded" "meant-to-say" remarks.

Too bad Obama. You're the one with the "gifted" silver tongue. Like wright, you have to own up to what uncontrolable dribble pours outta your mouth.

[Tyler in Iowa]

To A Taylor:

Obama won in Iowa.

[Michael]

Ralph-

Either you didn't read the transcript, or you lack the ability to read critically. In fact, this article states that Sen. Obama did not say what you claim he did. I suggest that you shed your opinion on what you think he said, and instead educate yourself by reading what he actually said. I think you'll be surprised with what you'll find.

[David]

Between the blue-collar trailer folk and Hillary McCain, Barack Obama is stuck between a rock and a snake. If he doesn't wear a tie, isn't polite, or seems angry, he'll be lumped with Al Sharpton and Rev. Wright and will scare white voters. If, on the other hand, he does dress and act respectfully and does speak intelligently and intelligibly, he's called an elitist who's out of touch.

The thing is, Hillary and John McCain can go have a shot and a beer at bars throughout Pennsylvania and the people cheer. But if Ed Rendell is right, Barack Obama wouldn't even be allowed in some of those bars if he didn't dress and act like a modern Sidney Poitier.

[Aman]

YEAH! the fact that Hillary will do whatever it takes to win, I will vote for Mccain if she steals the nomination.

[Ray]

Historically proven, all presidential candidates, either for the nomination or the election, are liars. They pander to the voters preceding the election. They make all sorts of promises that they know they cannot fulfill but make great sound bites. I recall the election of Jimmy Carter who promise the people deserves a president as good as the people. That immediately caused me great concern. The "people" are rarely educated on the true nature of the political issues. Remember the years of 20% interest rates under Jimmy Carter??? The naive voters truly believe the simple and optimistic solution to great problems facing the nation. Look at the history of the recent presidents: preceding the election they utter great solutions, e.g. balancing the budget, solve the social security funding issues, solve the health care issues, etc. You name it and they have a simple [15 second] sound bite solution. Have these problems been properly addressed?

Don't believe that Obama or Hillary will carry out their promises to the voters now. They will start blaming others. Liars, liars. These candidates take the voters as fools. Once in office, they will continue their smooth rhetorics but not come close in fulfilling their promises...

[mtt]

I'm done with the redneck tactic of Clinton and his supporters. They will spread their "rust" to the rest of the country.

It's time for Obama to form a new party.

[Human]

Bitter=angry, hope=obama, any other modifications to the english language you would like to make in order to make yourself sound better? How about these, clinging=holding and guns and religion = jobs and values. Now we have small towners angry, but still holding on to their jobs and values, and not giving up hope. I think thats what I meant, yeah, thats it.

[mtt]

I'm done with Clintons and their supporters.
They will lead this country to become a very BITTER,giant rust belt.

It's time for Obama and his followers to form a new party.

[reason]

Obama actually has me wanting to vote for Hillary. I never would have thought it possible to make her look good but Obama has succeeded where noone else could.

I guess it's true one man can make a difference. Obama has singlehandedly destroyed the democratic party. This is republican heaven.

[Coonie in SC]

The real malcontent in this picture is Obama.
Obama is bitter over all of the handicaps that life has dealt him, his mixed heritage that made him an outsider, his abandonment by his father, and later, by his mother.
This is the reason he chose an angry black woman as his wife, and an angry mixed race pastor as a mentor, so he will have an ear for his complaints, and a voice to air his issues with people who are not like him.

[Cerebral]

What happened to the man of better judgement? A person who has a private persona and public persona often slip up. Can't believe a word he says.

You want an administration worse than GW and Jimmy, vote for him and we all pay for it. Look at his followers, venom spewing hate mongers who can't carry on a decent exchange without being in the gutter.

Go McCain a man of will, character and priciple.

[billy]

Quote: "Hillary has a 35-year record of standing up to special interests and delivering results."

Here we go again with the 35 years of experience thing. Thirty-five ago years puts her in the year that she graduated from law school. Yep she received lots of experience making coffee as a junior partner in a law firm. Get real, and check your facts. Don't believe everything that you read.

[Stephen Block]

I would NOT vote for Obama for the following reasons:

1-He is much, much too inexperienced to be president of the U.S., leader of the free world and the person whose finger is on the nuclear trigger.
2-He is like a "pop star" catapulted to fame by Oprah, much the way she catapults authors to fame.
3-I don't like him because he is a liar. After a 20-year close personal friendship with the bigoted Reverend Wright, he said he was not familiar with his views. Also Wright is chummy with the super-bigot Louis Farrakhan.
4-When the Senate voted for a resolution saying that the Bush administration must get Congressional improvement before any preemptive military action be taken against Iran, Obama astoundingly did not vote!!! He opted to campaign instead!!!

[J Cline]

Obama misses the point of the furore. I could care less if he labels me bitter or angry.

What infuriates me is his deduction that because I'm bitter (and white) I turn to God, guns, and hating. He suggests that lower-income rural whites need to be saved from themselves, that their values are insincerely held because they're only a projection of bitterness over economic inequality.

Now that IS insulting... and yet it is an assumption that elite liberal eggheads routinely make. Where does this Messiah-wannabe get off?

If Democrats nominate this clueless Ivy League clown, I guarantee you there will be another Republican in office by January.

[Tim]

Ann-

I coldn't agee with you more- until the end of your statement.

Let me express it this way:
If you like the war in Iraq, Vote McCain.
If you like making our country more vulnerable to extremists, Vote McCain.
If the rights of reproductive health don't matter all that much, Vote McCain- because 2 Supreme Court justices will be on his watch, no matter what he thinks of the issue.
If you don't think Human Rights- sometimes called "gay rights" by a press that mocks them- aren't important, Vote McCain.
If you want to see your country bankrupt, despised, and at the end of her very best days- Vote McCain.
If you love bankers- Vote McCain.
If you think homeowners "got what they deserved"- Vote McCain.
And yes, if you're Bitter- Vote McCain.

Ann, don't be like a bull-headed Hillary supporter. Get into the streets if she steals this, if THEY steal it from Obama- that's what I'm going to do. But for god's sakes don't vote for more war. The World can't wait? The World can't take it.

[Ryan P.]

You never know what an English means until you step into a political world or a third grade English class. Gotta love the way people make living by dissecting just words.

[randygrenier]

Having watched this campaign carefully, I think that Obama is the least evil of the candidates. Clinton is obviously a typical slime politician who lies without hesitation to get what she wants, and McCain is just another member of the Republican Crime Family. We have seen what these people do already. Why keep up the same old s#^t. Let's give Obama a try--he can't do any worse.

[amos]

I think that what you believe in your heart comes out of your mouth - what he says is what he means the first time he says it - any backpeddling is trying to cover for you real beliefs. And if he thinks that the backbone of America - the small town folks - will only cling to guns and religion when they are upset than shame on him. I hate to break it him but America was founded on guns and religion. But maybe we should be focusing on his terrorist ties - how come that isn't all over the news - where are the journalists- did Obama pay them off with all his money? do we want a terrorist in office?

[proud american]

The incompetence of the media is stunning. John McCain, who claims to be an expert on the middle east, doesn't know the difference between sunni ahd shi'ite, iran an al qaeda, yet the media court him with donuts. Obama makes an offhand comment, and they go into a feeding frenzy. Have any of the lazy-assed reporters actually gone into the world to find out how people actually feel? I have a suspicion that for many, bitter would be a pretty good word.

[crspratt]

How can anyone but an out-of-touch elitist think that folks in the heartland might be a tad bitter about the economy? Here's another example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_vN0--mHug

[Billy]

Quote: "Can someone post the links to the contributors". Just google for Obama or Clinton contributors.

Robert mentioned Goldman/Sachs and Obama. He failed to mention their much larger contribution to Clinton:
Goldman Sachs $426,100

[J. Clark]

I would like to see a Clinton third term.

Things were better under Bill Clinton. Regardless of what Republicans and black hustlers say.

[John]

We can do it ....Obama all the way ...

[You have to be kidding me]

If Obama wanted to make money, he chose a very poor way to do it. Essentially, the prime intellects posting here are suspicious because he turned down extremely well paying, low risk jobs to take a series of low paying community service jobs. Of course, he did this because secretly he knew that by rolling the million sided dice of politics he would eventually hit the exact number that would put him in his current position, where he is poised to work long hours under constant threat of death for essentially peanuts yet again as president. But eight and a half years from now, provided he actually wins the election, he is poised to make a killing in book deals and appearances.... what a greedy bastard.

[manuel]

Why did Hillary have to return $800,000.00 to the chinese?

[Roger]

Hilary is a scumbag. Period.

Look at the scandals Clinotns are involved, watergate, travelgate, monicagate, Kathyleen Willy, Jennifer Flower, yada yada. The list is too long!

For 36 years she is deceiving American people to make her own fortune. $109 million in just 7 years and she is keep saying she is working for people?

She is taking pac money, lobbyist boosted her campaign by paying $192 millions.

Last 20 years Bush and Clintons ruled White House. America is not a dynasty.

Princess Chelsea Clinton for President in 2021? Are you ready?

Vote wisely, vote o8ama, 08.

[dennisk]

Obama has about as much in common with average working people as the man in the moon. He and his wife have enjoyed the fruits of Harvard and other prestigious institutions who look condescendingly down on working class people. I don't think he has yet to know what callouses and dirty fingernails are, let alone having experienced them. I have to wonder if there is any lasting substance on the inside of his packaged, calculating shell.

[Matt Collings]

Obama has already lost, period.

[shar]

I won't be responsible for any votes for any of the candidates because there isn't a candidate running that I believe in - Democrat or Republican. I never believed in Hillary (sneaky) or Obama and I have grown to not believe in McCain either. I am a Democrat and had hopes that the Democrats would get back in, but I would be ashamed to see either one of the candidates become our President. What is happening with campaigns - they are becoming so dirty. It's dig up some smut and pour it on! I can't go along with this and won't.

[CALIFORNIAMARTY SAYS]

"Barack Obama may be exactly what his supporters suppose him to be. Not, however, for reasons most Americans will celebrate.

Obama may be the fulfillment of modern liberalism. Explaining why many working-class voters are "bitter," he said they "cling" to guns, religion and "antipathy to people who aren't like them" because of "frustrations." His implication was that their primitivism, superstition and bigotry are balm for resentments they feel because of America's grinding injustice.

By so speaking, Obama does fulfill liberalism's transformation since Franklin Roosevelt. What had been under FDR a celebration of America and the values of its working people has become a doctrine of condescension toward those people and the supposedly coarse and vulgar country that pleases them"

This fraud is no man of the people. He has by the anti-American anti-white, company he keeps and in some cases, like Rev. Wright idolizes.

Electing this man who had all the previleges of a millionaire attending after his Muslim school days in Indonesia, the toney private and expensive schools in Hawaii, Oxy in Los Angeles, Columbia, and then Harvard he joins the elistist mold. He couldn't wait to get into his Faux Georgian Mansion with the help of the slumlord fixer A. Rezko now on trial for corrupton and extortion, his political base thanks to Rev. Wright and Farrakhan who saiys Obama has been "groomed" to appear docile. He counts as his friends William Ayers and his wife Dorns the unrepentant bombers and terrorists.

Those who back this man are either on the same page with him or completely duped. Maybe both.

[Ian]

I don't think I can bear the thought of having to listen to her for the next 4-8 years. I can't stand her for five minutes. I can't stand how Hillary will say anything to get elected. She SUCKS. If Obama doesn't win, I think I will be forced to vote for McCain, and that's just sad.

As far as Obama, I don't know if there has been another candidate in the last 40 years with such a magnitude of heart and presence of mind. This guy is special.

[ted cory]

Dennis Francis check yor facts. They can. As legal entities, e.g. incorporated, they can. Thats why coorporations can be sued, but not the owners directly. They are legal entities of thier own. Why don't you quote your sources too for your facts?

[Jeff Webb]

Obama dodged talking about the main problems with what he said. It's important to look at what he said by breaking it into its separate parts and simplifying it by putting it in common english (How many of us use words like "antipathy" every day?). Who cares if he mistakenly said people were bitter, compared to the rest of his statement?

He said that small town Americans:

- turn to guns to deal with their frustrations.
Gun nuts? What about home protection and hunting, which many people still do for survival in the U.S.?

- use religion to deal with their frustrations.
Bilble thumpers? Religion as a substitute for liquor? Religion is a valid lifestyle for the faithful, through good times and bad.

- use "antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment" as a way to explain their frustrations.
Automatically racist? Come on, Sen. Obama. My home town was one of the hardest hit by NAFTA, and it has become even less bigoted over time, not more so. The KKK tried to have a parade and got heckled off the street by both whites and blacks, with absolutely no supportive audience.

Stereotyping small town America just like this is what arrogant politicians and media people who are disconnected from their countrymen have been doing in this country for ages. We're beyond tired of it.

And when Hillary Clinton is being real, she's no better.

[danny]

Let's see - He opposes "right-to-work" laws, opposes private ownership of guns and is anti-religion. So basically, he disagrees with the first and second amendments as well as a free market economy.
Perhpas he ought to run for office in a communist nation..

[awlswll]

Obama should apologize for those bitter remarks...instead his ego is telling him to GO ON OFFENSE...how disappointing....change we can believe in...I think not Sen. Obama....

Obama's Flaws Are Numerous:
There are many. His statements that he wants to withdraw U.S. forces from Iraq, combined with his lack of foreign policy experience, could hurt him. And his aides are hard pressed to come up with any deviations in a voting record the nonpartisan National Journal calls the most liberal of any U.S. Senator.

As a state legislator he was even more off-center. In 1996, he opposed the Defense of Marriage Act, which the Senate approved 85-14 and President Clinton signed into law. He twice voted "present" on a bill to ban partial-birth abortions. In 1999, he was the only state senator to oppose a law that prohibited early prison release for sex offenders.

Mr. Obama also backed a total ban on handguns, a move his campaign now says was the result of a rogue aide filling out a questionnaire. But Mr. Obama's own handwritten notes were found on the questionnaire, calling into question the campaign's version of what happened.

[Vincent]

As i recall Bill clinton had america in the black for the 1st time in decades, bush has america bankrupt a trillion times over, who do you want obama the rookie or the clintons, & to hear posters comments here bill slept with monica so i wont vote for hilary, eh? In the uk my home she would get sympathy not hatred, America needs!!!! a president who knows about how to get america out of there financial crisis, every politician sleeps around, as do all humans, they are not running for pope. America needs to forget about punishing the clintons for there sexual romps, and start realising religon plays no part in politics in the UK we dont care what religon you are atheist or whatever it plays no part in politics, Bush is a excellent example of voting in a simple minded religous country bumpkin into office, he has been a disaster for America.
mcain is just another bush but with brains, & he is living the vietnam war every day of his life, he will bomb the entire middle east if he is made president.

Americans need to start thinking with there brains when voting for the next president, thinking with your bible will see obama get in, thinking with a gung ho attitude will see rambo mcain get in, if the uk was going bankrupt i would vote for the prime minister with a tract record on the economy, & bill clinton was your best president for decades for the economy, the 2 bush's & reagan bankrupt america, and obama will do the same, as he fills the swiss bank accounts of african leaders, with all the aid he is promising there, africa does not need aid they need leadership that is not corrupt, all aid does is make the mugabe's of this world rich.

[very bitter]

I am very disturbed by the news media in the way they keep beating up on Obama. Billary made some inaccurate statements about the Boznia lie that Hillary told and it never took legs. How long do we have to hear about the
comment Obama made? We all know what Obama meant
but no one wants to admit it. What is the difference between bitter and angry? Can we please get back to the issues that we need to hear.

[jimmie w beck]

MR OBAMA.. I DON'T BLAME YOU FOR WANTING TO CHANGE THE SUBJECT. FOR YOU TO BE PLAYING OFFENCE RATHER PLAY DEFENSE.. BUT WHAT YOU SAID WAS OFFENSIVE...SO WHAT AREYOU TALKING ABOUT..NO, NO, MR OBAMA.. WHAT YOU WANT IS FOR THE VOTERS NOT TO SEE YOU FOR WHAT YOU ARE...A IVY LEAGUE NO IT ALL LAWYER WHO THINKS YOU NO WHAT BEST FOR US VOTERS.....YOU MAY BE SMART BUT YOUR NOT WISE. YOUR LUSTER IS GONE WE SEE THROUGH NOW. SINCERELY, JIMMMIE W BECK

[AJ]

Yeah, well if you are bitter and angry Obama isn't your man. He thinks he is going to go to Washington, make a speech and every politician that you are bitter and angry with is going to say "okay, Barack, let's work together now!" That is never gonna happen.

[Susan in PA]

I am a female, caucasian, 40-something Pennsylvanian. I have no issue with guns, don't hunt but my family does, don't belong to organized religion, but have no issue with anyone who does.

I was never offended by Mr. Obama's remarks. True, he probably could have worded it a little better to appease the word police, but I thought he was right. There are a lot of people here who are bitter about their circumstances. Why would they not be?

Look at the campaign Hillary Clinton has waged. She acts like a pitt bull most of the time - is this someone you want negotiating foreign policy for the US? Now her husband is seeing signs that don't exiist...if this isn't scary, I don't know what is.

People of PA: Let's put this whole issue to rest right here next week. Think. Read. Vote.

Obama PA 2008

[Noir]

I am continuously baffled by the amount of people who are clinging to this 'bitter' comment like it came from the mouth of the antichrist.

The bottom line is that when times get hard economically, crime rates and gun related deaths rise. People attend church services more often hoping to find solace in their religions. Oppressed people become bitter towards those that they percieve as being part of the threat. It's simply human nature.

How is that even remotely offensive? Has the truth become such a blasphemous subject in American politics that one cannot utter such things without being called elitist?

I'm a working class man, and I'm bitter as anyone can be. I don't own a car because it doesn't make sense to own something that you cannot afford to put gas in. I work 10 hours a day Monday - Friday and still live paycheck to paycheck.

I say to hell with those who condemn Obama for his remarks. Let them see how rosy their world view is when they have to wait until payday to buy groceries. Let them see how their sense of community crumbles when no one is there supporting them or their family while illegal immigrants get social security and benefits.

Is it really that horrible to think that with all the billions of dollars being WASTED in Iraq and on failed immigration policies that some of that money should have been reinvested in America and our collective future instead of just throwing a few hundred dollars back in the hopes that it will stem the current trend of economic recession?

[Sonia Benjamin]

It appears that speaking the truth is no longer acceptable for a presidential candidate. I listened to the subject speech by Obama and I have no objection to it. I have a job and I am still bitter that the U. S. government acts in opposition to my interests. It makes sense to me that people would retreat to what makes them comfortable in difficult circumstances. I thought that was what religion was for.

McCain is an embarrassment. Hillary is liar who is fighting tooth and nail with whatever she can grab onto. Barack Obama has conducted a campaign we can all be proud of and would be a great president. I hope we get to take advantage of that.

[George]

It seems that Hillary's ranting has now reached the point to where she is tearing away at both a key part of the democratic base (african americans) and backstabbing the most important demographics the democrats need to win an election (the young and union vote). I would not vote for McCain if he were to square off against hillary after all of her shennanigans, but I am far more likely to stay at home than give her a bump. Hillary's advisors may be telling her natioanally she does not need the aforementioned demographics to win, but in key battleground states like Florida, Missouri, and Ohio, there is absolutely no way she can win without them. And her constant insults towards those groups will not be forgotten.

[Judy104]

Go home Hillary. Ditch the expensive pantsuit. Share a shot or two with your mate. Enjoy your China, Dubai, and Grand Cayman $109 Million, and continue your 10% to charity. We will manage to prevail through this Bush mess without your Highness. In so many ways you exemplify what is wrong with this country--avarice, greed, lies, entitlement; the list is long and tiresome. Go home to your husband, Hillary Clinton--there are worse things than adultery (to quote you). New York may need a new governor in a few years, but I do think you have burned too many bridges with the American people for a V.P. slot. I wouldn't want you a heartbeat away from the presidency--the thought would keep me awake at 3:00A.M.!

[Blair Alvarez]

This is it. I used to be pro Obama but now he is going negative, attacking not only Hillary and McCain, but the working class of America. We don't need an out of tough ivory tower thinker in the white house.

I am writing the Obama campaign and asking them to return the $50 I donated to them last month. I support nobody that doesn't support me.

[Alex Clement]

I had thought after 82 years on this earth that we had moved away from stereotype thinking--reading these blogs make me realize that we haven't. Lurking just below the surface of the anti Obama diatribes is the ugliest racism I have seen in years, clothed in code words that even the Clintons have used. (What right has this black man to act as if he were an elitist--look at him from Harvard--!!!) Sad and not a happy commentary on our society. If we end up with 8 more years of Republican bungling--God help us all.

[Greglh]

I'm just amazed at how easily the media latches on to these false attacks on Obama. I know Hillary complained, but does he have to complain to stop the insanity. This should NOT be receiving the attention it has been given considering Hillarys...

Bosnia..
Columbia & Penn..
Columbia & Wolf or whatever his name is.
Tax Returns...
Bill Making money supporting Columbia and us expecting it not to have an effect on her policy. She is benefitting from it everyday she talks about Obama.

Is she waiting for Bush to successfully put something in that can't easily be turned around so Bill can continue to make money for them and she claim she is against it??????

Now they are already setting up a PA win by Hillary as an upset, big win, momentum changer, etc...
Give me a break!!!

She has been favored to win this since the beginning.

The only outcome to make it big is if PA residents do what needs to be done to get the democrats in the White House which is make Obama the winner April 22 so we can focus on the Republicans.

[cb]

Senator Obama hasn't seen anything yet. This campaign has been "paddy cake" compared to what is to come should he be the nominee. Get ready for defense!!!

[arthur a allen]

HELL YES IM BITTER!
HELL YES IM ANGRY!
Im going broke, losing my business, credit has evaporated, lost any and all equity, and too old to start over.
Yes, i do take comfort in guns and i read the bible to keep from using them.
Obama is absolutely right.

[Bitter Hillary]

Wow. I can't believe how uninformed some people are. Don't you realize that merely knowing the wrong person makes you evil? "Oh no! Someone tried to help earthquake victims!" you might say, but they're EVIL victims because... well, just because I said so!

And in spite of his association with Rev. Wright, he's still a Muslim. But he has a lot to explain for why he could go to a racist Christian church for 20 years, especially why he was doing that as a Muslim. And why do they help white people? What kind of "racists" are those people in that church?

I mean, it's not like the older ones remember getting beaten up, or having a hard time getting a decent job in the 60's and 70's especially. And how could Rev. Wright condemn the ACTIONS of a country that never did anything wrong, except maybe infecting black soldiers with syphillis in the Tuskegee experiments?
http://www.npr.org/programs/morning/features/2002/jul/tuskegee/

And what's worse is all his funding. How the HELL can Obama get on a high horse over it just because over half of his donors are average people who give $20 or less. He's definitely in the pocket of big corporations, somehow.

This is why we need McCain to save us. Who else will blow up Iran if not him? Bush doesn't have enough time left.

[Ed Weirdness]

That tears it! I'm voting for McCain!

[kg]

BOSNIA
"NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS"

- Chelsey CLINTON, CLINTON's BIBLE.

COLUMBIA
"NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS"

- Chelsey CLINTON, CLINTON's BIBLE.

IRAQ VOTE
"NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS"

- Chelsey CLINTON, CLINTON's BIBLE.

MONICA
"NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS"

- Chelsey CLINTON, CLINTON's BIBLE.

NAFTA
"NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS"

- Chelsey CLINTON, CLINTON's BIBLE.

HEALTHCARE (ASK IN 2009)
"NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS"

- Chelsey CLINTON, CLINTON's BIBLE.

REST OF CURRENT PROMISES (ASK IN 2009)
"NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS"

- Chelsey CLINTON, CLINTON's BIBLE.

[fwb]

I've been a lifelong Democrat. That does not imply that I've never voted Republican because I have (I have a brain and a heart).

Hillary Clinton is a gifted politician but she's shown herself to be a horrible manager. Virtually everyone agrees, both Demoncrats and Republicans, that Hillary has presided over one of the worst run campaigns in years. The primary process is also a test of managerial ability and leadership, NOT just ideas. When I look at Hillary and Obama I see very little difference between their ideas. Most everyone agrees here. Yes, there are some differences but they are subtle and in the margins when it comes to implementation. The tipping point for me is that Obama is simply better organized, he's a better manager, and he has better judgement.

Rezko, Sniper fire, "bitter", PAC money, Billary, actions over speaches -- it's all the same crap back and forth. In the end, for me, it's who can manage the country effectively, with judegement and intelligence.

Obama for President. Hillary for Senate Majority Leader.

Peace.

[kk]

SIMPLE:

GOP ~ GUNS
GOPS ~ GAS GOUGING
GOP ~ GAY (Not Literally)
GOP ~ GOD (Not Spiritually but just for VOTES)

SIMPLE:

Will GOP commit to GAS not hitting $6 a GALLON?

Will GOP commit to MILK not hitting $5 a GALLON?

Will GOP commit to STOP RELEASING BIN LADEN's TAPES?

Will GOP commit to STOP Showing FOX Terror LEVELS?

Will GOP commit to STOP abusing "CIVIL RIGHTS"?

Its all Evangelicals who made our life miserable.

WE DO NOT WANT OUR PRESIDENT TO DECIDE at 3AM.

WE DO NOT WANT OUR PRESIDENT TO DECIDE at 3AM.

as she can't answer questions at 3PM itself.
Her husband claims She was sleepy when she told Bosnia story (was he saying she was dreaming of Sniper fires then)?

[NG Taelin]

Does not matter how much you all praise the monkey. At last, you will be very surprised that the swan got the party normination.

[Michael]

Again, he is trying to twist what he said. He says You've got to feel some frustration. You've got to feel some anger," he said, "when you get the sense that the …American way of life for so many people is slipping away.” But, he said, that was "not a reason to give up hope.” in his most direct shot at Clinton, whom he never specifically mentioned, he said: "If anyone denies that people are frustrated and angry and, yes, sometimes bitter, then they are out of touch."
It’s NOT about frustration, or anger; it’s about his remarks that when you are angry or frustrated you go for your gun or you find religion. This is the statements your hear from your loony leftist.

[Ed Weirdness]

Its Gun show season people! Time to stock up on guns and ammo. If either Clinton or Obama are to be the next President the old axiom "better to have a gun and not need it, then need it and not have it" will gain perceived wisdom.

[Carl]

IJ for Hillary says:
“The more I read or hear that Obama did not take wall street job and instead, joined community work in Southside Chicago, the more suspicious I am of his intent - was it a service minded plan or a grand scheme for a short-cut to get to the Top Job!”

This is the most cynical comment I have ever read. At 22 Obama is passionate about doing something for other people and takes a job for $13,000 when he could have made 2 or 3 times this amount, or he could have gone directly to Law School to start making more money sooner. Yet he decides to go to Chicago to make a difference when there was no quarantee that anything would come of it, or that he could get killed in the dangerous areas he worked in.
25 years latter some knucklehead warps the desire to help other people in to an underhanded scheme to get to the top faster! This is the lamest thinking I have read. If community organizing work was the fast track to becoming a successful politician than we would see a lot more of the people in congress with the same resume. Instead we see resumes that include Attorneys form large firms, working for other congress persons. The truth is very few members of Congress have worked as community organizers.
IJ, you are so in love with the idea of Hillary Clinton being back in the white house you can’t think straight.

[dennis from the midwest]

im not going to name names but some of the people on here have the most unrealistic comments that could only be the evil rhetoric of a enimy that has been cornered and if frightend of Obamas cindarella story. how many of you have ever actually looked past his race how many of you can close your eyes and listen and how many of you are afraid of what you dont understand?

none of the 3 front runners have a spotless past now will they be the perfect president for all people. you can bet that some will be better for others and if we can alll come together and open our hearts to the idea of change then we will all benifit from a president that dosent need large corporations to buy there policys through, look at GE and Haliburton how in the world did there initial campaign investments come to pay them back so much for there initial investments into bush? we cant let special intrests controll 1/3rd of the checks and balances of our democracy.

i gave obama 25$ so far and i will give more as soon as i get my check from the economic stimulus package.

[Paul Goldberg]

Obama proves the point that:

"There is a sucker born every minute"

He has the gift of gab but nothing else. He is a empty soul with no substance. Hillary...geessh I never thought I could ever vote for her....maybe McCain is the one...

[Bob]

Whatever. I'm still waiting for a REAL INVESTIGATION into 9-11 so we can put the real perps behind bars. But, instead, we give into what the media tells us is the real issue. Likethe "he said she said BS."

Won't any of the candidates talk about that?

Welcome to Fascism, America.

[Ian]

I trust Obama. I believe, after 100's of hours of speeches, debates and position papers, that he has the best interests of the majority of America at heart. It is impossible to please or be an advocate for everyone. Obama is an intelligent, dedicated, talented individual with a unique perspective on race, immigration, opportunity, and the intellectual accumen to pull all of the pieces together. Will he make mistakes? Yes. WIll he make far less judgement mistakes not having been infected by Washington's politics and thievery? Yes. Will he do his best to fulfill the promises? Yes. We have seen the effects of 7 years under George Bush, who can't string a sentence together, isn't smart enough to think for trust information (just his gut) believes duty, honor and country only apply to those he sends off to war, had zero foreign policy experience, and couldn't be trusted to do his duty. in his own military career. People hoped he would be his father. People hope Hillary will be Bill. (sort of) Unfortunately, we can't afford another president who can't tell the truth and can't work well with others. Ask yourself this...if Hillary and Bill can't work well with their own party and are willing to rub away Obama's political capital with the general election voters, how can we expect her to get anything accomplished in the Whitehouse? What Obama offers...Unite, re-energize, refocuis, rebuild, and restore. I respect McCain and am honored to have him as a senator. I just don't agree with all of his ideas or positions, and feel we need someone who not only knows how to use a blackberry but can articulate the differences between Shia and Sunni, who brings more to the table than a reputation for being a maverick. We like Mavericks, we even like women who talk trash, but we don't give them the keys to the whitehouse. We make movies about them or thank god we din't marry them. I want someone who represents America to the world. I would be proud to offer Omaba as our solution to George Bush and his cronies. I'd be worried Hillary was traveling across the country wearing diapers, not stopping, and peeing in a gatordade bottles at 3 AM, hoping to catch Bill with one of his lovers.

[GooseGuy]

Hillary is so power hungry it seeps from her very (botox-ridden) pores. In contrast to the poster several hundred posts back who thought that Obama was "cracking" under the pressure... on the contrary, he has responded to the lumps of mud slung in his direction -- racist pastor blah blah, oooh he said 'bitter' blah blah -- with admiral poise and consistent conviction; he never seems to break a sweat. That's looking pretty presidential to me. OTOH, Hillary has been known to throw hissy fits in the halls over minutiae, and the whitehouse staff were said to live in fear of her when she was first lady.

[cizmad]

The accusations of Obama being elitist are both laughable, given the source (McCain is married to an heiress and has been a DC fixture for decades, and the Clintons have banked almost 100 times Obama's net worth in the past seven years) and frankly, confusing: to echo Jon Stewart's sentiments from The Daily Show last night - don't we WANT our President to be better than us? Isn't that WHY they are applying for the job? Graduates of Harvard aren't just spontaneously crowned with a sense of entitlement and a high-paying job, they actually put in the work to be accepted to one of the most rigorous and selective schools in the country, where they are taught by an incredibly prestigious faculty - not only did Obama attend Harvard Law, he excelled there, becoming a standout student even among the brightest and most dedicated in the country. He is elite, certainly. But elitist? Well, after Obama soared through his Harvard education, he went back to working with communities in need. Hillary Clinton slipped out of her Ivy League education and into a corporate law position that had her defending Walmart.

We have a president who is an "everyman", though frankly I like to believe he sits below the national average because his lack of judgment and integrity has been appalling... isn't it time we elected someone who is superior? Are we really so turned off by the idea that some people are smarter, better educated and of sounder judgment than others that we wouldn't elect the former to an office of tremendous weight and responsibilty because we feel that he's *elitist*?

If that's the attitude that the "small towns" of PA have, then they are every bit as stupid and bitter as Clinton and McCain would like them to believe Obama said they are.

[All American Guy]

Dear -- Hillary , McCain, Obama. All the people that care to see.
I hope the heated and rising commitment of bitterness of the All American people, IS getting the attention of our Rich and getting richer - Inert Politicians ! I think (Know) it is time to get our Homeland back.
Fill your tank with gas, Buy food at the cheapest market you can find. By comparison, My tax bill looks SMALL this year. This low grade pressure has been going on for years and it is coming to a head. The people making 15 K to 50 K a year are now thinking, moving to another country might be a good option. Its ironic that they may be hired at the same position they had here in the USA. ( before it was OUT-Sourced ) But in that country they could afford food and fuel in there budget.
I can remember like it was yesterday 2002, and the price of gas went to $2.05 a gallon and people were freaking out! Now we are so overwhelmed, we are comatose and powerless. Is that what our government wants us to be? I THINK THEY DO!

If you run the numbers and risk management programs. You will find that the only way to react to these pressures is to,
Invest in your own Horses and cattle, Plant your own food, Have your own renewable energy. ( heating ) . Sell your surplus If any ( at the exuberant prices ) that are being put on our shoulders right now.

This sounds crazy to anyone who is residing in an urban community, I Know it does, I live there too part time. But those people who have been scared enough or are smart enough to have created a secure environment for there own survival, are the makers of there own destiny.

Is that what our government wants us to do?

I don't think so!
Just look at the road blocks they have put up to stop this kind of lifestyle. The system wants a certain amount of dependency, so there will be a certain amount control over you.
A small example. A farmer who was happily using vegetable oil to run his truck and heat his farm house. Was informed that it was illegal for him to store and use this oil now. There is a law now, stating it is now a HAZMAT! But if you pay per gallon and put up the cash to protect for this hazardous material, its OK to use it then. WHAT!? his own products and waste. and he has to pay AGAIN?
Now what about horses. They want to CHIP them, and make you pay for all sorts of controls.
Cattle. that too. even for your own consumption, it is said They can be dangerous!?

There is obvious differences in lifestyle of the farmer and the Urban community, but it really comes to just those two types. They really rely on each other but the rule of law imposed on the Urban residence applied on the farmer is killing the farmer.
I am hoping these great people who are hard workers and living without the safety net that the Urban people have every day, will have there peaceful and profitable life returned to them.
A quote from a movie - " In the land of the Blind, The one Eyed man is King"

Now, we have had the past generations of politically motivated leaders, and now Clinton, Obama, or McCain to re-make America? I dont think this is a good bet.

OK, now for you Urban people to do your part. The farmers are doing their's ( food on the table - alternative fuel crops and so on )
You can't expect the farmers to walk up to a sleeping giant and kick him do you. They would be crushed.

If all the urban dwellers, Rise up and let there voice be heard, I think there is a chance that who ever gets into the House, may make some BIG changes.
You are the most populous and the most powerful. You can make all the noise you want, get noticed, and not have the consequences that the farmers and rural populous would have put on them. You rely on infrastructure's that need controls and safety nets that farmers do not enjoy.
Politics directly effect you every day.
What if all the farmers used their own fuel to run their operations, with no penalties to them. They could afford to send their kids to college. And there would be more fuel for the city bus, Cheaper food prices for you. What if they could consume all their own products for free? Tax breaks and limited controls for the farmers who work without the privileges of the city. This would bring more investment into farming and producing. An all around winner for all of us.

Make the political machine listen, make them change for you, and for those who support you, truly support you.

Dont let anyone or anything put you into so called CLASSES like, middle income, farmer, upper class, poor, billionaire. There are just two ways of living, you are
1.) a farmer, or living with the Land.
Or 2.) You are in an Urban residence. and not having to or able to, have a self sufficient lifestyle.

We all need each other.

Remind our politicians of the French revolution. The similarities of the day are frightening.

All American Guy

[Sammie]

Obama and Michelle are both bitter people. I'm starting to realize a pattern and believe that these misspoken speeches were naturally from their heart.

I was an Obama supporter...but ever since the Wright issue and calling us American people, "bitter," I have to say that I'm really DISAPPOINTED THAT I VOTED FOR OBAMA BACK IN FEB 5.

[Nicole]

I just want to point out that some of our best presidents ever have been young. Google it.
A lot of people have said that he is too inexperienced, but in my view based on his books a lot of voters don't see that 'experience' often leads to just the sort of things that they hate. Corruption. Power-mongering. Ignorance of real problems with new solutions, and the will of the American People.
I truly hope that America can get past the petty crap and vote for someone that can really make change, has been doing so. There is only one candidate that can do that, in my view.
Also, to whomever posted the 'McCain is the better choice over angry Obama': GET REAL. McCain has one of the hottest tempers of anyone you'll meet. Look that up too, it's not hard to find.
Check your facts America, then talk. Good luck to us all.

[Michigan Voter]

Yes, Amos, that is what is so scary about America. Guns and religion=violence and an excuse to be a bigot. I don't think people cling to guns and religion out of bitterness due the economy, I believe it's sheer ignorance. It is this very ignorance that continues to buy into Billary's campaign strategy.

Let's face it-Americans really only want to hear things that make them feel warm and fuzzy inside. We can't handle the truth. Finally, we have someone telling it. However painful it is to hear, take a deep breath and moment to think...you may have a revelation.

[Loonatikjenn]

If Hillary Clinton is pretending to be Annie Oakley, Obama, is pretending to be Mother Theresa.

Obama was brought by Rezko to Chicago to help him obtain federal funds to build substandard housing for the poor.

Wonder if the Obama plan for bailing everyone out of our current housing mortgage mess, was not created with Alexander Mehran in mind. He is the Iranian-American real estate developer that hosted the now infamous "Bitter" fund raiser.

Isnt former Senated Majority leader and Obama Co-Chair, Tom Daschle a lobbyist, Most of the Daschle family were lobbyists while Daschle was in the Senate.

[xbjllb]

"Political silly season" Yeah, Obama is going to find out JUST how silly the good voters of Pennsylvania think his "bitter" remarks were, and just exactly how bitter they are about how he belittled their deepest-held beliefs.

Obama; all talk, no common sense.

[George]

Most of the comments posted here are a clear sign of the problem with America and some of the most divisive I’ve read yet. You all bicker and name call. Point fingers and are defensive. People are bitter and some are happy, it all depends on your situation. Most of you post as if you are experts on the opposing candidate, yet you provide false facts or no facts to back your claims. Yes all politicians are corrupt, (subject to being corrupt or tempted to be) and there are no exceptions. Perhaps if half the energy spent on comments posted here were used constructively we as a nation might get somewhere. You think you know what Obama meant? Were you there? Did you read his body language? Do you know McCain’s health status? Are you his doctor and know that he can’t survive long enough to lead? Do you know what’s actually in the Clinton tax filings? Are you a tax expert? Spend some time educating yourselves on the facts and then maybe you can provide some positive input into society so I don’t have to read your personal biases while looking for the view point of the few educated individuals who have time to post.

[Elizabeth sinner]

If Obama turned down big-paying jobs with law firms then how did he buy a 1.7 million house? Sounds fishy to me!

[Dennis R. White]

Mr. Obama is correct in saying it must be the political silly season if the other candidates choose to label him "elitist" Both Clinton and McCain come from well heeled, well connected families. Both Clinton and McCain have not held working-class jobs in decades.
Isn't it a bit contrived that the media and the other Pesidential campaigns have run with the hot button terms "elitist" and "out of touch" ? No matter who one supports it is evident that almost all Federal politicians are out of touch with their grass-roots constituency. I'm a lifelong Democrat, and but I'll be pulling the handle for Mr. McCain before I'll go along with Mrs. Clinton's attempt to hi-jack the democratic process by hypocrisy, subterfuge and disembling.

[I CAN SEE CLEARLY NOW]

It's un-belivable that it's okay for a white women to lie to Americans and chaulk it up as mis-speaking. She's
a compulsive liar , but she get's a pass that it's okay and all her lies are forgotten. Now this man is half white & black, but to American stardards a black man who cannot mis-speak because of his skin color.
It is so true that black people have to prove themselves tiwce over in America just to be accepted.
So what the man is educated, but he's a black educated man so he's uppity and so you fear him. Bull
You weren't gonna vote for a black man to begin with and you can keep all that redneck (Geoff Davis) bull
to yourself. Talk about arrogance... You might as well put your sheets back on. You are saying you will fall for anything as long as the color is right. Damn shame

Now Geoff Davis called this 46 year old man a damn 'BOY" WHERE IS THE COVERAGE ?????? Nohere
why over half the media feel the same way, just won't say , this goes for Lou Dobbs, Hannitty & Colmes, Pat Buchanan, & Ed Rendell or should I call it FIX A NI---- Network .

[JFK?]

Another JFK in our midst?

The bay of Pigs... Cuban missile Crisis... entry into Vietnam
etc..etc..etc..

God, I hope not.

Idealism gets you nowhere. Its nice to have, but has no basis in reality. High hopes will turn into heavy misgivings, into feelings of betrayal. If Obama makes it to president, it will be only one term, and nothing will get done.

[Subhash Durlabhji]

I'm really confused. Seems like what Obama said was Psychology 101. Its called dissonance. Of course we "cling" to that which brings us comfort and divert our frustrations to the easy target when experiencing powerlessness in the face of unresponsive institutions. We all do it to preserve our self-esteem, our sanity. What else is faith in an all benevolent God except balm for our souls? Without it we would not be able to cope with the first serious tragedy to strike us. Billary perhaps would not know about that, those who live charmed lives rarely encounter the kind of trauma the common folk do.

[Jack S.]

The Clintons want to help us but that also means helping themselves.

Of the $109 million the Clintons are reporting as income in the last 5 years, they did not declare where $15 million came from? Why not?

Have we forgotten that when the Clintons left the White House in 2001, they helped themselves to a number of state gifts that the Inspector General deemed "inappropriate" and which they were forced to return to the people of the USA? Or that a record number of pardons were granted in the waning days of Bill's presidency, some of which are directly linked to cash contributions to the Clinton's war chest.

Space alone prevents me from expanding this list of Bill and Hillary's "what is good for the USA is good for us " philosophy.

I'm just glad that *SOME* truths have come out lately about Obama. Considering the extreme, unprecedented free ride Obama