Obama Allies Avoid Trying to Explain Most Controversial Part of His Remarks

The Obama campaign is smart to avoid explaining the gaffe.
For example, here’s the most recent Obama explanation on the ‘clinging to guns and religion" remark.
“People feel like Washington’s not listening to them, and as a consequence, they find that they can only rely on the traditions and the things that have been important to them for generation after generation. Faith. Family. Traditions like hunting. And they get frustrated.”

Huh?

Obama has been the only dignified candidate left for the Democrats. Hillary (liar and loser) =McCain.

Go Obama

A white woman who is finally proud that we have someone to be proud of.

Barack Obama continues to try and posture himself out of the truth of the "audacity" contained in the reality of his potential regime.

The truth about Obama will continue to emerge as the August convention date draws nearer, and the Obama scheme for the subjugation of the Constitution and America's majority will become clear.

All the explanations and interpretations of Obama misspeak by campaign surrogates and mantra followers will fail when placed side by side with the logic of truth.

And, Barack Obama will be filed in the same category as McGovern, Dukakis, and Kerry--unelectable.

For those who say the mainstream media has been pro-Obama should ask themselves one question. Where was mainstream media when millions of people were marching against the invasion of Iraq in 2003? Hillary Clinton was part of the political leadership which voted in support of a preemptive war on Iraq. This leadership shared a very cozy relationship with mainstream media at that time. Those who courageously stood up and opposed the war were shut out of the national discussion.

I am bitter that Barack Obama has gotten such preferential treatment from the press.

I am frustrated that Barack Obama's campaign is run by journalists who have manipulated the print media, CNN, and MSNBC.

I am digusted that Obama used anti-trade anger as a wedge issue to get votes, but goes to a wine tasting in San Francisco and accuse Bush and Clinton of using anti-trade as a wedge issue.

I am outraged that Obama said people have antipathy to those not like them when he attends a church that spews racial hatred to whites, Jews, Italians, and patriotic US citizens.

I am angry that any dissent of Barack Obama is written off as racism by the manipulated media

I am sick that the media has used the David Axelrod talking points as their story line: Hillary is rich, People are bitter, didn't mean cling, he is not an elitist because he was raised by a single mom and was a community organizer.

Finally, who was richer at age 46 the Clintons or the Obamas? Why is Obama allowed to disparage the Clintons and McCains, but remains untouched by the left-wing media.

After years of voting for the lesser of two evils, I had an euphony.

This year I'm voting my conscience.

This year I'm voting Thunderdome.

Amazing, isn't it, that million-dollar-a-year talking heads are shocked--shocked they tell you!--that Barack Obama said that white people, in smalltown America are bitter and frustrated by twenty-five plus years of downsizing, outsourcing, layoffs, sub-minimum wage jobs chasing down shopping carts at Wal Mart and a neverending war where their kids go off to die.

No, they're not bitter.

Columbuscharlie, you can blame the Huffington Post for the timing. They wrote about Sen. Obama's comments a week after the fact. The mainstream media saw the comment and then ran with the story! As Leslie points out, no one was supposed to know about this comment except those elitists who attended the fundraiser. I wonder what else Sen. Obama says when the press is not around?

I heard on radio this morning that Obama stammered his way to saying he used a poor choice of words. But what the report didn't say is that Precious was speaking at a fundraiser ($2300 per person) at which the press was not allowed. It is simply astonishing that this got out (as far as I'm concerned). We Were Not Ever Supposed To Hear This Speech or Ever To Know Of This Speech's Existence. EVER.
Why not? Because he wasn't speaking to you and me; he was speaking to the ELITE in San Francisco. To the Billionaires' Row folks who don't really mind if you and I struggle to pay for food and hope to goodness we don't get sick before we are allowed to take time off. The same people who put other president's in office.

And yes...I agree that the timing of this coverage is questionable. It's sort of like the *red alerts* that were flown every time a negative story about the GWB machinations appeared.

There are no coincidences.

Most americans are good and fair people and don't make harsh judgements based on... once again sound bites. Most americans know he told the truth about americans who have been hurt by previous say anything, do anything leadership just to get elected and truth trumps pandering and lies everyday. Why aren't you reporting on the Clinton lies, China link, husband and strategist link to columbia trade deal..those things really do affect all voters and the world. Don't you get it... this election is about true leadership and change this time...not pandering, lies and spin. We have way to many concerns for that now. Hillary Clinton is out of touch.

No one yet has mentioned the "timing" of this blowback againsr Obama. This happened over a week ago, the right-wing slime machine didn't notice anything wrong with Obama's analogy until after Friday's release of the chickenhawk's WH gathering to discuss torture methods. Anyone; whose brain can be described without using the word "amoeba",would find no fault in Obama's words,unless, of course, they were programmed to do so. What a sick America we live in today, as a dumb-down society squabbles over such issues, as our country continues to slide into the abyss.

Oh, and he called us bigots to boot.

Nice way to unify us all, Obama.

Yes, his team at CNN Sunday night was focusing on the "bitter" part and letting the following words go by.

Here's what the people need to understand. Obama is talking to a bunch of elitist, big money donors in San Francisco. There is no media present. He assumes he's among friends.

He says that Americans cling to guns, religion, anti-ILLEGAL-immigration, and "Made in USA" because of their economic status. The supposed thinking being that if he gives them jobs, they'll give up their guns, Christianity, welcome illegals, and not worry about the USA losing its manufacturing base.

We all know (or should know) that Obama wants to ban handguns, increase access to abortion for minors, issue driver's licenses to illegals, and do nothing to curtail NAFTA. Now that may appeal to you personally. But those attitudes don't win the White House in a general election.

My wife and I are both professionally employed veterans that who make good money and who understand exactly what Obama was referring to in his remarks. Those who are hurting in this recession are easy prey for those who like to blame immigrants, welfare moms, gun-control advocates, the ACLU - any number of scapegoats - instead of the policies of the "experienced" Bush/Cheney administration. We will be voting for Obama come this fall despite the smokescreens thrown up by weenie right wingers, racists, and tunnel-visioned columnists. Like the Boss says in one of his songs..."fear is a powerful thing". And fear is what feeds the right.

James,

We are cursed by Bush, not blessed. While I don't fawn over Clinton, I have to support him in this instance.

Your history is a bit muddled and blinded by party allegiance. When Clinton wanted to bomb al-Qaeda strongholds in Afghanistan, guess who tried to stop him? Republicans in congress who claimed that he was using the attack to bolster his warrior image.

So, don't give credit where it isn't due. Also, Bush ignored on repeated occasions direct intelligence reports and information regarding an impending attack.

If anything, we suffered as a nation at the hands of President Idiot.

Obama's choice of words was dead-on, his summation was the truth, that's how it is -- why should he apologize for it? Not everyone in PA actually is like that description yet it is a fair description. Clinton would have done better to apologize on her husband's behalf then gone after McCain and the Bush economic policies which McCain seems to want to continue. Instead, Clinton muddies the waters with non-issue pronouncements. We do not need another president who feels the need to take any opponent down by such tactics, eight years of it is enough.

Derrick, I can't speak for Jason. But I, personally, thank God every day for President George W. Bush. Had Al Gore been president on 9/11/2001, he would have treated the attacks as criminal acts (just like President Clinton did in 1993) instead of an act of war. Now he probably would have sent a few missiles into Afghanistan (just like President Clinton did on a couple of occasions), but al Qaeda and the Taliban would still be in power. Furthermore, Saddam Hussein would still be in power, as a President Gore would still be working the diplomatic angle (by now 17 years and counting) in trying to convince Saddam Hussein to comply with the conditions of the 1991 ceasefire. And with Saddam Hussein still in power, the oil-for-food scandal would never have been exposed. So Saddam Hussein would still be raking in billions of dollars at the expense of the hundreds of thousands (by now millions of) poor, starving and dying children; in addition to the hundreds of thousands of additional Iraqis being raped, tortured and murdered. Now I can't say for certain that we would have been attacked again, but all of the elements that are now in place (i.e., the establishment of the Department of Homeland Security and the passing of the Patriot Act) would not have been established or passed. The FBI and the CIA would still be prohibited -- by law -- from sharing information. And al Qaeda would have had another 7 years of relatively peaceful existence (instead of being on the run and hiding in caves) in order to plan and execute additional attacks.

uhh what obama said was totally correct from my experience of small-town u.s. (upstate NY and n. western PA).

I was never bitter or frustrated when I was out of work. Why, because I knew that the promises of politicians were empty and I was raised to do what I had to do to find work such as hopping into the old pickup, sleeping in it and once working sending money home to the family for a short period of time until things became settled. This is how I saved my house from foreclosure some 30 years ago.

If government promises and people actually believe that and there is no follow through, then the believers would be bitter. Yes, government can provide jobs; the USSR did for every one as did Saddam; mostly do nothing jobs to quite the masses. And what happened when those governments fell. The people were ill prepared mentally to do for themselves. Are we slipping into that mode too?

Mr. Obama can not have government directly creating new jobs and keep our capitalist system and we our freedoms as we now know them. And yes FDR have government creat massive job programs, but during a time of 25% unemployment with few jobs to travel to and yes we did lose some freedom; not at all as they did in Germany and Italy, but some never-the-less. We have lost more if FDR’s attempt to pack the Supreme Court had worked.

When government grows it naturally intrudes into your life more and more, your freedom is eroded regardless of the intent of the leadership; the bureaucracy seemly has no limits or checks on what they can do to you; a tyranny of the minority; the bureaucrats in this case (think IRS to the extreme armed with administrative warrants). Fortunately, our constitutional workings held government mostly in check in our country during the depression; others were not so fortunate. I’d rather not try that aga

Isn't it interesting that Bob Casey bemoans the special interests in Washington where a congressman from his own Keystone State of Pennsylvania named Jack Murtha has poured special interest pork into his district like Niagara Falls? My god, these people have no shame and at best only a passing knowledge of irony.

I clung to my religion when I was so bitter after the 9-11 attacks. I guess I'm one of those Obama spoke about, except I live in California.

Oh well.