Obama “Deeply Regrets” If “Bitter” Comments Offended Anybody
By Justin Gardner | Related entries in 2008 Election, Barack, Democrats, Hillary
However, he’s sticking by the content of the statement, and that’s important.
CHICAGO, Illinois (CNN) — Barack Obama said Saturday that if he has offended people with comments he made almost a week ago where he labeled small town Pennsylvanians “bitter” and that they “cling to guns and religion” then he regrets it.“Obviously, if I worded things in a way that made people offended, I deeply regret that,” Obama said in an interview with the Winston-Salem Journal, according to a transcript provided by his campaign.
“The underlying truth of what I said remains, which is simply that people who have seen their way of life upended because of economic distress are frustrated and rightfully so,” he told the North Carolina newspaper. “And I hear it all the time when I visit these communities.”
Frankly, at this point we have no idea if people were actually offended or not, but the right-wing and Hillary were making such hay out of this that Obama had to say something to block the criticism.
But again, the content of what he’s saying is right, and in 2004 he said something very similar and much more eloquently.
(video h/t: TPM)
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April 13th, 2008 at 9:02 am
Well, lets assume that BHO is sociological/anthropologically correct and that cultural issues are proxy issues when voters feel a sense of hopelessness regarding economic policy. (Again, this shows an immense ignorance about these “bearded tough guys” and the core-values of small-town America).
What is BHO’s economic solution to bring back a vigorous manufacturing industry? Green jobs, education, corporate taxes. None of his “solutions” bring the welder back to the factory. Who has more political courage economically? John McCain, who tells Michiganders the truth, the jobs are not coming back and you have to change. Or BHO, who tells people, you’re just bitter about the economic situation, but doesn’t have the courage to tell them the economic truth, that the U.S. is (as Sideways pointed out in a post about tech geeks supporting Obama) now essentially an Information economy, based on creativity, information, exc..
One thing is for certain, BHO is not the “new” candidate that he was several months ago and is more than willing to play on traditional, old political divisions.
April 13th, 2008 at 9:17 am
To this…
Now wait a second…Obama said the same thing about those jobs not coming back, but actually proposed solutions as well.
And by the way, those ARE the solutions that will help create jobs and incent corporations to keep their factories here. Are you disputing this?
One last thing…the US economy is NOT an information economy…at least not yet. I think it will be that in 30 years, but it’s going to take at least another three generations and a significant hardware and broadband boost for it to happen. I mean, if Korea isn’t an information economy with the significantly faster broadband it has now, then we’re not going to become that anytime soon.
April 13th, 2008 at 10:53 am
Nothing I said was wrong, but I’m sorry if you small-town rubes got offended because you don’t realize that I’m right.
April 13th, 2008 at 2:36 pm
Wrong Jimmy, he merely stated that he misphrased what he said and even his aides are saying he realizes he flubbed the phrasing.
He’s right, when people are well off and have a lot of cash, they’re more concerned about the new plasma they’ll buy or the vaction to the bahamas they’ll take then whether two gay girls or guys are getting married. And if they can drive to the local store and pickup all the meat they need there is less inclination to hunt, you still might do it, but it becomes less a requirement for obtaining food.
April 14th, 2008 at 12:05 pm
“I deeply regret that I may have pissed off some of you white trash hicks enough to lose your vote, and I’m sorry you’re too dim to comprehend what’s really wrong with you.”
Thomas Franks redux. I wanna hear BHO’s explanation of the pathologies of his own community, inner-city Chicago, and how it’s superior to small-town PA. THAT should be amusing.
April 14th, 2008 at 12:52 pm
That is a fantastic point, Tully, The problem: He would have to seriously critique the wack-job Church he goes to and the racist preacher he listens to. He would have to confront the culture of victimology that it feeds, the race-pimps like Wright and the tendency for some within the black community to CLING.
Here’s the deal with Obama and it’s starting not to work: He tactfully and eloquently says, “You’re an idiot, but you being an idiot is understandable and I’m the key to you not being an idiot any longer. So vote for my hope…the hope that you stop being an idiot by voting for me.” He’s an idiot.