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#1 | |
Rock n' Roll Doggie
VIP PASS Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: NYC
Posts: 5,741
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Obama Slams Small Town America
On the Huffington Post, there's a transcript of Obama describing people in small towns in Pennsylvania and the Midwest.
__________________Here's the transcript: Quote:
Harsh words, but I think Obama might've hit a nail there. But at the same time I feel he might've lost the working class vote because someone is going to feel offended and insulted by what he said. |
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#2 |
Forum Moderator
Join Date: Aug 2004
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Eh, I wouldn't call it a 'slam' as the intent was clearly empathetic, but reductionist dimestore social analysis like that is better left to pundits and private campaign strategy meetings; too much risk of sounding patronizing.
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#3 |
Resident Photo Buff
Forum Moderator Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: Somewhere in middle America
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Yeah, that's hardly a slam. Though I'm sure that'll be the headline on Fox News...
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#4 |
Rock n' Roll Doggie
Join Date: Aug 2004
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I come from one of those towns. There is some truth to it. I'm not going to say that I haven't heard anyone say they wouldn't vote for Obama because he's black because I have, but I haven't heard it much. I won't say it's not a big reason, whether I'm hearing it or not. I'm not seeing a huge clinging to religion or guns. I see distrust of what is different. I don't always like what I see but I understand some of it.
I wouldn't call my area anti-Obama as much as I'd call it pro-Hillary (The Republican contingent is anti-Hillary, but this is a Democratic area) For all their recent millions, the Clintons project a down to earth, populist appeal. Obama comes across as an elitist here. And elitists have never been much help to the people here. She's comfortable with us. She's available. She's called into our talk shows and walked in our parades. When she came to speak here, she called the local stagehands union to make sure union workers were used. (Even though both she and Obama were in Wilkes-Barre the same day and were set up by the same production company, Obama's setup did not use union workers. I understand Obama's campaign requested union workers, but Hillary's campaign made sure) Little things like that. There's a sense she would be our president in a way that Obama would not--not because he is black, but because of the personal way she connects. We're not sophisticated here. Hell, we aren't even sophisticated enough to have a Cheesecake Factory. We're sub Cheesecake Factory. But we're not particularly stupid either. We're pragmatic. The New York Times had an article recently. I didn't post it because I usually do my political discussions elsewhere now--offline. But I know this region some and the article had to do with Obama's having to change his oratory coming into Pennsylvania. I'll link the text, but basically the article made a couple of key points that are true in my area and I'm certain in similar towns in PA. First, that change to us often means a worsening, since we've been made so many promises that haven't been kept (ie, lied to). The second is we like details. We don't much like "blather". That was the word used in the article, but not one I hear around here. Must be the difference between steel and coal regions. But we get the gist. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/01/us...blather&st=nyt |
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#5 |
ONE
love, blood, life Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: The Wild West
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Good that there is a candidate ready to put these working class yobs in their place.
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#6 |
Forum Moderator
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I'd never even heard of Cheesecake Factory myself until Irvine mentioned it the other day.
![]() Since he seemed to also be broadly speaking about "small towns in the Midwest"--I agree with you that the mixing of Rust Belt imagery with clinging-to-guns-and-religion imagery sounds a bit off. I also agree about smalltown Rust Belt voters liking "details" (plus it's always been my impression that Midwesterners in general distrust 'ideological'-seeming candidates whether left or right, but maybe that's the transplanted Southerner in me misreading things). I do think though that out here at least, plain old name recognition goes a long way, makes people feel like they know what they're buying, and Hillary's got lots of that. |
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#7 |
Blue Crack Addict
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: NY
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To me, "elite" seems most often a code for "intellectual" and some inherent distrust thereof. I am not sure when we evolved into a society where people feel smugly superior when they are less informed and less educated, and there are occasions on which I feel some people actually take pride in being ignorant about the world.
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#8 |
Rock n' Roll Doggie
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I am a Clinton supporter, I see nothing wrong with what he said.
All due respect. Folks need to grow the fuck up. I like Obama more and more, I just don't think he's as electable. Silly nuance. |
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#9 |
Rock n' Roll Doggie
Join Date: Aug 2004
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Don't think there was any evidence of anyone taking particular offense. That was just a possible supposition of the thread starter.
Elite can also signal that there may not be real understanding of the problems of the working class, that one deals more comfortably in the world of ideas than in the world of the people he/she represents--a disconnect. I'm sure there is some truth to what anitram says, but that is not the only unease. I think it was a good part of the lack of enthusiasm for Kerry in addition to his being insufferably dull. |
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#10 | |
Blue Crack Addict
Join Date: Apr 2002
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Quote:
Are these "they" and "them" people "typical white people" ? And that is an Obama term. |
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#11 |
ONE
love, blood, life Join Date: Jan 2004
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I'm sure that everybody will find out when the Rovian election ads come out.
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#12 |
Blue Crack Addict
Join Date: Apr 2002
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This has nothing to do with Rove.
This is all over the place. Along with the Rev Wright blow up, and hatchet job he did on grandma. He is really digging a hole for himself. Obama stepped in a big pile here. And needs to do more than keep stomping on it. We have an inexperienced candidate saying idiotic things. McCain got quite a bit of benefit out of his 2000 run. This time he is staying cool. Hillary has been baptized in fire with the 92, 96 and impeachment horrors. Obama is not ready, this campaign will serve him better if he does not get the nomination, too bad his small state strategy worked so well. |
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#13 | |
Blue Crack Addict
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Quote:
What the hell is Obama saying? People vote against gay marriage because they don't think they can count on Washington? Count on Washington for what? To discriminate against gay people? Is this what Obama's change will be? To let people know that they can count on him to ban gay marriage? And put assault guns back on the streets? |
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#14 |
Blue Crack Supplier
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The other two canidates... MLK and 7/11, what do we do?
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#15 | |
Blue Crack Addict
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Quote:
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#16 | |
Blue Crack Supplier
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Quote:
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#17 | |
Refugee
Join Date: Jan 2008
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Quote:
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#18 |
Refugee
Join Date: Jul 2005
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You have to remember that Obama's comments were made to wealthy Californian donors at a stop in $an Franci$co. These sort of views on religion, guns, trade, gay marriage, etc are par for the course.
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#19 | ||
Blue Crack Addict
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Quote:
this is good Quote:
he should have stopped there or admitted it was another bone-headed mistake instead is seems to be trying to put lipstick on a pig |
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#20 |
Rock n' Roll Doggie
Band-aid Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: If the moonlight caught you crying on Killiney Bay oh sing your song let your song be sung
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^^oh ya, he's definitely done it now...
__________________![]() ![]() ![]() This nit-pciking attack is nothing more than desperation pure and simple. It's so funny to me... It never fails, he starts to gain ground in the polls and here comes the SLIME machine!! I have 3 words for you..... BRING IT ON!! ![]() ![]() Please look at his response.... http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/ ![]() |
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