Did Obama jump the shark?

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rn79870
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Did Obama jump the shark with the comment about the citizens of small-town Pennsylvania?
CNN wrote:Sen. Barack Obama on Saturday tried to clarify what he meant when he said some small-town Pennsylvanians are "bitter" people who "cling to guns and religion."

Sen. Barack Obama told a newspaper if he offended anyone, he deeply regrets it.

"I didn't say it as well as I should have," Obama admitted in Muncie, Indiana, on Saturday, the day after he first defended his comments, "because the truth is that these traditions that are passed on from generation to generation -- those are important."

The Illinois senator made the controversial comments at a California event that was closed to the media last Sunday.

Obama defended his point of view amid intensified criticism from Democratic rival Hillary Clinton and presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain that's he's elitist and out of touch.

"Obviously, if I worded things in a way that made people offended, I deeply regret that," Obama said Saturday in an interview with the Winston-Salem Journal, according to a transcript provided by his campaign.
How can you claim “you didn’t say it as well as you should have” when you really mean “I tripped over my stupidity.” This has to be a record, with eight little words he has gotten the attention of the media and exposed some inner feelings. We are quickly running out of candidates.

Does anyone have a clear choice yet for the next president?


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Cold_Zero
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I had yet to hear about the comment until I went to my nieces 3rd birthday. When I walked into the party my mom asked if I had my bible and my gun. I just smiled and said, "In the truck, why?" I don't live in a 'small town' though. I live in a pretty big city with a lot of people who hold close to their guns and even closer their bibles. I am sure you can find that scenario in every layer of our society...

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Here's the original quote:

"And they fell through the Clinton administration, and the Bush administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not," Obama reportedly continued. "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."

http://www.chicagotribune.com/...story

This one has wings. I don't live in an "important city", and let me tell you, we're quite familiar with this sort of language. There's no way you would say "cling" accidentally. This is his view. He has even tried to point out that's it's the truth, just poorly worded. What exactly does he think is the truth?

This one will stick. He'll lose points in PA over it.

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Cold_Zero
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The article you posted said, Dateline Muncie Indiana. Well Muncie is pretty much (excluding the campus) Mid Size with plenty of people being blue collar, religious and 'gun toating.' The people who have lost their industrial jobs to other countries. That kind of talk isnt going to win him any votes in small town Indiana either.

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Cold_Zero wrote:The article you posted said, Dateline Muncie Indiana. Well Muncie is pretty much (excluding the campus) Mid Size with plenty of people being blue collar, religious and 'gun toating.' The people who have lost their industrial jobs to other countries. That kind of talk isnt going to win him any votes in small town Indiana either.
Hey!!!!! I resent your remarks! Muncie's not so bad... I shot my first stop sign in Muncie Indiana one night after a prayer meeting!


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"...cling...to religion..."

That's all I needed to hear from that assclown douchenozzle.

Remember, HE'S the one who attended the church with the racist psycho pastor FOR DECADES.

Now we know how he feels about small-town people with Christian values and strong faith.

Us "clingers" will see to it that you fail miserably in your quest for the White House, Mr. Obama.

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Cold_Zero
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ArizonaG35 wrote:
Hey!!!!! I resent your remarks! Muncie's not so bad... I shot my first stop sign in Muncie Indiana one night after a prayer meeting!
I wasnt putting down Muncie. Andy and I spent our college years in Munice and we have very fond memories. Especial of the Herot...bud

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I was just being fecitious Bud... trying to make a point to the post. I've spent my fair share of nights getting pickled and hitting on the finest corn-fed tail Ball State has to offer too. you're in good hoosier company with me bro so try to take most of my posts for their comedic value... that's all. I don't have much else to offer this site other than a little whitty and sometimes off color banter along with sincere comroderie.. I'm not hereto step on anyone's toes... just to keep everyone on their toes!

Dave--------------------sent from my treo wireless device

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This is probably pointless since wingnuts will believe whatever they want to believe despite concrete evidence to the contrary, but here it is in full context:

"So, it depends on where you are, but I think it's fair to say that the places where we are going to have to do the most work are the places where people feel most cynical about government. The people are mis-appre...I think they're misunderstanding why the demographics in our, in this contest have broken out as they are. Because everybody just ascribes it to 'white working-class don't wanna work -- don't wanna vote for the black guy.' That's...there were intimations of that in an article in the Sunday New York Times today - kind of implies that it's sort of a race thing.

Here's how it is: in a lot of these communities in big industrial states like Ohio and Pennsylvania, people have been beaten down so long, and they feel so betrayed by government, and when they hear a pitch that is premised on not being cynical about government, then a part of them just doesn't buy it. And when it's delivered by -- it's true that when it's delivered by a 46-year-old black man named Barack Obama (laugher), then that adds another layer of skepticism (laughter).

But -- so the questions you're most likely to get about me, 'Well, what is this guy going to do for me? What's the concrete thing?' What they wanna hear is -- so, we'll give you talking points about what we're proposing -- close tax loopholes, roll back, you know, the tax cuts for the top 1 percent. Obama's gonna give tax breaks to middle-class folks and we're gonna provide health care for every American. So we'll go down a series of talking points.

But the truth is, is that, our challenge is to get people persuaded that we can make progress when there's not evidence of that in their daily lives.

You go into some of these small towns in Pennsylvania, and like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing's replaced them. And they fell through the Clinton administration, and the Bush administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not.

So it's not surprising then that 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.

Um, now these are in some communities, you know. I think what you'll find is, is that people of every background -- there are gonna be a mix of people, you can go in the toughest neighborhoods, you know working-class lunch-pail folks, you'll find Obama enthusiasts. And you can go into places where you think I'd be very strong and people will just be skeptical. The important thing is that you show up and you're doing what you're doing."

It seems to have been just a poorly worded description of "issue voters" - like the kind that put Bush in the White House simply because they are pro-life, or homophobic, or Zionist, etc. while ignoring the bigger picture.

But, "cling" to the out of context meaning if you wish.


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Cold_Zero
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Its all good, when were you at BSU?

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Cold_Zero
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ishkabibble wrote:So it's not surprising then that 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.

It seems to have been just a poorly worded description of "issue voters" - like the kind that put Bush in the White House simply because they are pro-life, or homophobic, or Zionist, etc. while ignoring the bigger picture.

But, "cling" to the out of context meaning if you wish.
I agree that it was poorly worded. He DID take two negatives (bitterness and xenophobia) and sandwich them between two issue 2nd Amendment and Freedom of Religion, while speaking in a section of the country San Francisco California which looks down on these two topics. Why did he even need to bring it up? Take that whole section out of the speech and you have a pretty darn good speech. I have heard people defend Barack's statements today on the talk shows and I really can't but help think that he was trying to draw political points from the SF crowd at the fund raiser. This guy is just as hypocritical as he claims that John McCain and Hillary Clinton have been working in Washington DC. Heck they are all Senators and are Washington insiders in my book. I really didn't care about the comments, because us gun toting bible beating Hoosiers look down our noses at the Elitist scum to our west (Illinois) ... [/unfounded attack]

But what I find interesting in all is this, is that this wasn't a speech for the masses. The Media were not allowed to attend this fund raiser and recording of the speech was not allowed. This was apparently a bootleg copy of the speech.

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ishkabibble wrote:This is probably pointless since wingnuts will believe whatever they want to believe despite concrete evidence to the contrary, but here it is in full context:

It seems to have been just a poorly worded description of "issue voters" - like the kind that put Bush in the White House simply because they are pro-life, or homophobic, or Zionist, etc. while ignoring the bigger picture.

But, "cling" to the out of context meaning if you wish.
As I tried to point out, people in the places Obama is talking about see your attitude frequently from people who come to visit, or people who talk about the town. Pardon me, but I see "DC" in your profile. If that's Washington, I recommend that you pause a moment, and ponder Obama's words again. This could very well be something you don't understand. Believe me, it's crystal clear to millions of good ol' ordinary Americans, who, believe it or not, live where they do by choice - because they have different value systems than those in large important cities. Think hard about that word - "cling".

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96Qowner wrote:As I tried to point out, people in the places Obama is talking about see your attitude frequently from people who come to visit, or people who talk about the town. Pardon me, but I see "DC" in your profile. If that's Washington, I recommend that you pause a moment, and ponder Obama's words again. This could very well be something you don't understand. Believe me, it's crystal clear to millions of good ol' ordinary Americans, who, believe it or not, live where they do by choice - because they have different value systems than those in large important cities. Think hard about that word - "cling".
I grew up in the Midwest, and until recently have lived in towns that make Fargo look like a megaopolis. Feel free to factor that into your assumptions about my understanding of value systems and perceptions. Few people are actually from DC, most of us just live here perma-temporarily.

I can see both what Obama meant and how it is perceived. The former is being distorted, and that is the issue here.

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Ok, since you're familiar with towns even smaller than mine and the people who live in them, and you understand what Obama meant to say, can you explain what is meant by clinging to guns, religion and antipathy towards others?

Is clinging a good thing? Are guns, religion and antipathy all good things, or are they all bad things? Do we cling to some good things and some bad things? Can you explain why the audience laughed?

I'm surprised you can't see the insult. People can be, and are, bitter and frustrated anywhere in the USA. But to say that bitterness causes us to cling to guns and religion and antipathy is naive and snobbish. No one is clinging to any such thing. The choice to own a gun has nothing to do with bitterness, nor does the choice to join a church and attend regularly. Antipathy towards others, as far as I can tell, is rather universal (exhibited by important church leaders in Chicago for instance).

The correct explanation for those words is that they were spoken to a gathering of campaign contributors in San Francisco. They were directed at that crowd and not the people who had the misfortune to be characterized in such a way. Politicians say different things to different people. That word cling is a problem. Those who understand, understand.

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96Qowner wrote:Ok, since you're familiar with towns even smaller than mine and the people who live in them, and you understand what Obama meant to say, can you explain what is meant by clinging to guns, religion and antipathy towards others?

Is clinging a good thing? Are guns, religion and antipathy all good things, or are they all bad things? Do we cling to some good things and some bad things? Can you explain why the audience laughed?

I'm surprised you can't see the insult. People can be, and are, bitter and frustrated anywhere in the USA. But to say that bitterness causes us to cling to guns and religion and antipathy is naive and snobbish. No one is clinging to any such thing. The choice to own a gun has nothing to do with bitterness, nor does the choice to join a church and attend regularly. Antipathy towards others, as far as I can tell, is rather universal (exhibited by important church leaders in Chicago for instance).

The correct explanation for those words is that they were spoken to a gathering of campaign contributors in San Francisco. They were directed at that crowd and not the people who had the misfortune to be characterized in such a way. Politicians say different things to different people. That word cling is a problem. Those who understand, understand.
I grew up in rural Missouri in a town of 2000 people (and we were the largest community within 20 miles in any direction). We had one bar (tavern) and 23 churches. My high school graduating class was 69 kids.

An African American family once tried to move into town. The partriarch was a Baptist minister. They were politely informed by the Superintendent of Schools that their child would never be educated in the Clark County R-1 school system and if they knew what's good for them they should just keep moving right on through and out of town again.

I see nothing incorrect about what Obama said. My personal belief is that religion, bigotry, and irrational fears are based on ignorance and fostered in certain Americans by a general feeling that they have no control over their own environment. I am NOT a fan of the far left's propensity to project victimization onto "the people" but neither am I a fan of the far right's propensity to legislate morality.

In short, if you wanna believe in some sort of invisible superbeing and do so while carrying a gun and gritting your teeth at "them furiners or darkies", then so long as you don't talk to me or shoot at me, then get down wit yo bad self.

That doesn't make what Obama said any less true.


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Clearly, it has two sides. I understand that many people don't see the insult.

Incidently, I don't own a gun, I don't go to church and I have no antipathy towards others, and I am insulted by that attitude. I've seen it far too many times from important city people who come to my little town. They don't understand why anyone would want to live in such a place, so they make excuses for us (not flattering ones).

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You can spin it however you want, but I've read it three times and the context doesn't change what he said.

In fact, one could choose to "cling" to the notion that we're overexaggerating the offensiveness of what he said - But that's just not possible, now is it?

He's a double-talking used-car salesman, and his lack of preparedness hasn't even BEGUN to be exposed.

Later tonight, I'll post up a collection of factoids about this young man that the mainstream press hasn't focused on - YET. But it's coming.

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ishkabibble wrote:It seems to have been just a poorly worded description of "issue voters" - like the kind that put Bush in the White House simply because they are pro-life, or homophobic, or Zionist, etc. while ignoring the bigger picture.
I comprehend the matter of "issue voters".

Both parties have them, and both parties exploit them to their full advantage. Obama will see TONS of votes for his Blackness, his Oprah-endorsement and his youthful handsomeness.

None of which qualify him to lead the Free World or command the greatest military in modern history.

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FWIW, I do agree that there are slips of the tongue and then there are glimpses of someone's true character.

Yogi Berra -- slip of the tongue

Obama -- glimpse of who he really is

But the same can be said for every single person on earth who is trying to please, placate, or garner support from an audience.

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to be quite honest I would be very scared if this was not blown to the proportions it is. Its politics and its a nasty mud slinging fight. When This sort of thing is not overly made a point of I expect that the end of our political system is at hand.

As for obama I wont be voting for him, his stance on so many other issues makes him as bad as hillary, and while i dont agree with john mccain, I at least can respect the man for his stances and thoughts.

I saw this bumper sticker and I wasnt sure if it was an Obama camp or McCain camp thing but i laughed so I feel its a worthy addition.

"life is a *****, dont vote for one"


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