Obama Admits "Bitter" Remark a "Distraction" for Dems
In an interview with the editorial board of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Sen. Barack Obama admitted that his comments about residents of small towns in Pennsylvania being bitter about their economic situation and as a result clinging to guns, religion and anti-immigration sentiment "represented a distraction not just from his campaign message but also from Democratic efforts to overcome stereotypes that Republicans have exploited for decades."
"What I do regret is that in one quick statement that wasn't phrased properly I detracted from what I think has to be a genuine effort on the part of Democrats to speak to constituencies we haven't always reached out to," Mr. Obama said during a wide-ranging interview with the paper.
"The basic proposition, what I was trying to say is something I deeply believe, which is that people feel abandoned economically, they don't feel that Washington pays any attention to them. They have heard a lot of empty promises over the last two to three decades ... they're very cynical about the possibility of change.
"They then rely on those things that they can count on. They rely on faith, just like I rely on faith when times are rocky for me. They rely on traditions, like hunting that's been passed on through generation to generation to generation. When people are angry and frustrated they are also subject to being divided, and politicians will exploit those instincts about so-called wedge issues. Karl Rove explicitly targets those issues and made it an entire campaign strategy over two elections."
Meanwhile, the paper itself announced its endorsement of Obama: "Pennsylvania -- this encrusted, change-averse commonwealth where a state liquor monopoly holds on against all reason and where municipal fiefdoms shrink from sensible consolidation -- needs to take a strong look at the new face and the new hope in this race. Because political business-as-usual is more likely to bring the usual disappointment for the Democrats this fall, the Post-Gazette endorses the nomination of Barack Obama, who has brought an excitement and an electricity to American politics not seen since the days of John F. Kennedy."
10:08 AM ET | 04-16-2008 | permalink
