Obama and his "Out of Touch" Remarks

[une]

"Because they hate freedom" he said.

I almost can't believe someone (other than Bush or others in the current administration) actually used the phrase "they hate freedom."

Does your fellow student there just parrot everything he hears on Fox News?

"Woe, woe, they hate us for our freedom!"

I've run into plenty of people like that on the Internet. Not so many in real-life, but I live in Canada.

Hear that opinion a lot, when discussions of terrorism come up. Even from people who are seemingly liberal in other things, when it comes to terrorism, they say, "they hate us because of our freedom." Maybe it's because I live in Indiana.

[FSTargetDrone]

I've run into plenty of people like that on the Internet. Not so many in real-life, but I live in Canada.

Hear that opinion a lot, when discussions of terrorism come up. Even from people who are seemingly liberal in other things, when it comes to terrorism, they say, "they hate us because of our freedom." Maybe it's because I live in Indiana.

I guess with all things, it's where one lives. I live near Philadelphia, and in my circle of friends, family and acquaintances, it's not the sort of jingoistic things people say. Same goes for religion (no one really talks about it) but that's another story.

Yes, it's the kind of garbage you hear on some talk radio, but among people I know and interact with (mostly Democrats/Independents) it's just not part of the conversation.

[Galvatron]

Obama calling the dirtbag Pennsylvanians gun-toting, weak-minded slugs, was tits. I'll be voting for him multiple times in November.

[Elaro]

Heh...'Married $50 million McCain' and 'Hundred Million Hillary' calling Obama out of touch with working people is the pot calling the kettle black.

Hell, "kettle" nothin'. This is the pot mistaking the sugar tray for a pan, and asking if it wants a little more salt!

Or something.

On-topic: I really like Obama's campaign, but I am afraid that he might be misinterpreted. If I ever go into politics, I'll be taking notes.

[Oni Koneko Damien]

I'm sure you can find an embittered, gun-toting religious nutjob from small town America who was offended - someone is always offended no matter what - but the question here is whether or not the majority is offended or not offended.

Hell, it doesn't even go that far. The question is, is there anyone who got offended who wasn't already a Hillary/McCain supporter? Seems to me most of the 'rightious indignation' is coming from the people who never intended to vote for Obama in the first place which means this statement of his changes the minds of... no one.

[FSTargetDrone]

Clinton was speaking in Pennsylvania today and got a less than positive response when she brought up this nonsense:

April 14, 2008

Pennsylvania crowd jeers Clinton attacks on Obama

Posted: 05:40 PM ET

CNN

PITTSBURGH, Pennsylvania (CNN) – On Monday, with the Pennsylvania primary just days away, Hillary Clinton continued to hammer Barack Obama over his comments that small town Americans "cling to guns or religion" because they are "bitter."

But the audience at a forum put on by the Alliance for American Manufacturing didn't appreciate her line of attack.

"I understand my opponent came this morning and spent a lot of his time attacking me," she said at the beginning of her remarks here.

Many in the crowd responded with audible groans, and a few shouted, "No!"

Obama spoke to the same forum earlier in the morning and ribbed Clinton for doing a shot of whiskey in front of TV cameras on Saturday in Indiana.

Clinton continued, "I know that many of you, like me, were disappointed by the recent remarks he made."

This time, a louder, sustained chorus of "No!" emanated from the audience. Clinton soldiered on.

"I am well aware that at a fundraiser in San Francisco he said some things that many people in Pennsylvania and beyond Pennsylvania have found offensive," she said.

This time, a smaller smattering of jeers.

It was only when Clinton concluded her opening remarks by attacking President Bush that she received a warm round of applause.

The Clinton campaign later said the disgruntled reaction to her remarks came from Obama supporters in attendance.

Several audience members told CNN after the speech they came to the forum to hear each candidate talk about trade issues, and were not interested in the political back-and-forth of the Democratic primary race.

When Clinton focused on policy and expounded on enforcing trade agreements, creating new jobs and standing up to China, she received some hearty ovations.

But despite Pittsburgh's working class reputation, it was at times a tough crowd for the New York senator.

As the question and answer session began, one man asked Clinton for assurances that American workers would not be "tricked" like they had been when her husband signed NAFTA in 1993.

A press release distributed to reporters by the Alliance for American Manufacturing calculated that Pennsylvania lost 44,173 jobs due to NAFTA between 1993 and 2004.

Clinton, who spent much of her speech attacking America's trade imbalance with China, responded by drawing a line in the sand between her policy positions and her husband's trade record.

"As smart as my husband is, he does make mistakes," Clinton quipped.

Try again, Senator Clinton...

[Masami von Weizegger]

Clinton was speaking in Pennsylvania today and got a less than positive response when she brought up this nonsense:

Try again, Senator Clinton...

Heh heh...

"Obama disgusted you guys, m i rite?"

"No!"

"Yes, he did!"

"No, he didn't!"

"I know he did, you just don't know it yet!"

Sorry, Hillary, it's all over bar the shouting, or at least I hope so. You want to keep on punching like Rocky and drag this out pointlessly, go ahead, but even Rocky Balboa lost to Apollo Creed in the first movie.

[Oni Koneko Damien]

The Clinton campaign later said the disgruntled reaction to her remarks came from Obama supporters in attendance.

It's a conspiraceeeeee!

"As smart as my husband is, he does make mistakes," Clinton quipped.

Like... marrying you?

[Broomstick]

The Clinton campaign later said the disgruntled reaction to her remarks came from Obama supporters in attendance.

No shit, Sherlock

[CmdrWilkens]

Honestly this is probably the best thing to happen to Obama yet because for every bit that Clinton goes on attacking him as elitist all he has to do is say: 'She and Billy made 50 million selling the great job they did with NAFTA," and everyone with a functioning brain (and they do exist) will be able to finally pierce through her insanity.

[Patrick Degan]

Honestly this is probably the best thing to happen to Obama yet because for every bit that Clinton goes on attacking him as elitist all he has to do is say: 'She and Billy made 50 million selling the great job they did with NAFTA," and everyone with a functioning brain (and they do exist) will be able to finally pierce through her insanity.

Oh, I'd happily pay money to see that speech. Or even better, during a debate.

[DrMckay]

Looks like Obama has new fundraising possibilities then...

[Elfdart]

Jesus would probably say "God damn America" too. Anybody who has actually read the Gospels and took them seriously would be hard-pressed to come to any other conclusion.

Thomas Jefferson said pretty much the same thing. Something to the tune of he lived in fear that there might be a just god who smites the wicked, since the US was deserving of punishment for its evil ways. Ulysses Grant said that the Civil War was god's divine retribution on this country for slavery and the Mexican War.

I used to doubt that the overeducated media whores believed all that superstitious bullshit (preferring to pander to the yokels who did), but after their hysterical reaction to Wright's version of "the bogeyman will get you if you don't behave", I can't help but wonder if they aren't genuinely afraid of a smiting from Jehovah for their depravity. At least King Balshazzar tried to play it cool when some prankster wrote Mene Mene Tekel Upharsin on the wall.

[FSTargetDrone]

Sorry, Hillary, it's all over bar the shouting, or at least I hope so. You want to keep on punching like Rocky and drag this out pointlessly, go ahead, but even Rocky Balboa lost to Apollo Creed in the first movie.

Actually, according to a columnist in the newspaper here, she's more like Ivan Drago:

Posted on Sun, Apr. 13, 2008

One Last Thing: Casting Clinton in a 'Rocky' role

She identifies with the title character, but Ivan Drago is a better fit. Both are calculating and emotionless.

By Jonathan V. Last

Inquirer Opinion Columnist
Elections are serious business, but let's take a moment to be unserious about a point of particular interest for Philadelphians. A couple weeks ago, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton started comparing herself with Rocky. She played the Rocky theme song at her rallies and told audiences: "When it comes to finishing the fight, Rocky and I have a lot in common. I never quit."

She's onto something, though not in the way she might think.

To be fair, the Clintons have come back for nearly as many sequels as Rocky Balboa did. Both franchises feel as if they've been part of the culture forever. And let's stipulate that Barack Obama is obviously Apollo Creed. Like Apollo, Obama is good-looking, charismatic, polished and smart. People are crazy for him. As Apollo's trainer tells him before the fight in Rocky II, "You're the Man. You're number one. The Champ, the best of all time. Girls love you - men, old people love you. Young people love you. You're the best." That's the general consensus on Obama, too.

And there's one other apt parallel: In his rematch with Apollo Creed, Rocky switches from being a southpaw to a righty in order to confuse Apollo and throw off his timing. Certainly, that's the equivalent of what the Clinton campaign has done since South Carolina.

But there's something not quite right about the Clinton-Rocky comparison. And if you meditate on the subject for a moment, the perfect comparison becomes clear.

Clinton obviously isn't Tommy Gunn, the young fighter from Rocky V who turns on Rocky after being trained by him. A nice parallel, by the way, for Bill Richardson. And while the nickname is irresistible, Clinton isn't the Fabulous Thunderlips - the pro wrestler played by Hulk Hogan in Rocky III. Thunderlips makes a big show of anger and savagery when he fights Rocky, only to turn on a dime afterward and reveal that his tough talk was just playacting. (John Edwards, anyone?)

So who's Clinton's real Rocky alter ego? Well, it's not Rocky III's Clubber Lang, played by Mr. T. Although it's a shame there isn't a Clubber Lang in the race. America could use another Mr. T, tossing out the occasional "I pity the fool" and telling reporters preprimary: "My prediction? Pain!"

But no, the Rocky metaphor for Hillary Clinton is clear: She's Ivan Drago, the Soviet boxer of Rocky IV.

Like Drago, Clinton is calculating and emotionless, a product more of laboratory science than organic growth. Drago was designed by the Soviet system to be a ruthless fighting machine. You could say the same about Clinton and the Wellesley of the '60s. In Rocky IV, Drago's Soviet handlers bill him as "the most perfectly trained athlete ever" and "the future," presaging the "inevitability" argument Howard Wolfson and Mark Penn were peddling on Clinton's behalf 12 months ago.

We never get a look inside Clinton's war room. She doesn't have her husband's exhibitionist streak. But think of the training facility Drago uses in Rocky IV: high-tech equipment with men in white lab coats studying him while making notations on their clipboards. It's easy to picture Clinton hooked up to electrodes, walloping a little padded machine while James Carville cackles about the amazing psi numbers she punches up with older Latino voters.

And Bill Clinton makes a fair Ludmilla (Brigitte Nielsen), Drago's beautiful, manipulative spouse who's always inserting herself into the action and demanding attention. If you'll recall, she does a lot of Drago's speaking for him. At one point, she even complains about the U.S. media's unfair treatment of Drago: "All I want is for my husband to be safe and to be treated fairly."

But the real clincher is Drago's attitude toward Apollo Creed's health, which roughly approximates Clinton's regard for Obama's political future. After laying waste to Creed, Drago famously croaks: "If he dies, he dies."

By the way, it's a testament to Dolph Lundgren (who has a master's degree in chemical engineering and was a Fulbright scholar - seriously) that he created such an iconic movie character with only a few bits of dialogue. His only other memorable line comes when he finally faces off with Rocky and tells the champ: "I must break you."

Which, incidentally, is a perfect distillation of the Clintonian worldview.

Contact Jonathan V. Last at +jlast@phillynews.com.

[Lord MJ]

<snip everything>

Okay, here's a simple offer: Find us these supposed legions of rural and/or blue-collar folk who were formerly Obama supporters who have just become *so* enraged with Obama's remarks that they've changed their stance. If his remarks are so horribly offensive, we should see a massive public outcry over it, rather than the tepid media spin-machine doing what it's always done, trying to create controversy where there is none.

For an 'Obama supporter', you sure as hell seem to buy a whole lot into whatever bullshit the media shovels out.

Never said that 'Obama Supporters" would turn out against Obama. I seriously doubt anyone that seriously supports Obama is going to turn against him no matter what he does. For that matter I don't see large amounts of Hillary supporters turning to Obama during the primaries, or large amount of McCain supporters turning to Obama during the general election. These groups of people will vote for the candidate they support. What I'm talking about is the people that are deciding which cadidate they will ultimately vote for. *I* don't buy into what the media shovels out, but they might espescially if the Obama's opponents are perfectly willing to use the media to their ends.

Now fortunately in the primaries at least Hillary isn't gaining any traction, so any one that may be offended by Obama whether they are actually offended at all are not turning to Hilary (to be honest, they hate her more).

But the point is that there are large groups of people that don't identify themselves as McCain or Clinton supporters that can't afford to be alienated. People can get upset over something even if it is right or even if no offense is intended. Those alienations can be taken advantage of by less scrupulous media and politicians. And if it becomes a theme or pattern, people may assume fault on Obama's part (even if it is completely fallacious reasoning to do so).