[Marxism] Clinton-McCain open chauvinist push against Obama for noticing some Pa. voters are "bitter"

["Fred Feldman" <ffeldman@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Not to mention their implicit endorsement of arming the "middle class"
against "criminals" and punishing immigrants as core "Midwestern values." 

Of course, Obama, as the representative of "change," has to notice some of
these moods. The candidates who think the status quo minus Bush plus Clinton
or McCain will work just fine have to strut in outrage over the bits of
truth let slip by their competitor, and are sure to depict the "middle
class" (the decent, hardworking people, also known in the US as the white
people) as both noble and happy campers. 

Obama is the candidate who represents the bourgeois perspective of "change"
in some current policies in the election, so he is the target. His race is
important as a central part of his credibility as a representative of
change, and has to come under attack in this process.  Here, he is the Black
man who has no empathy for the wonderful qualities of the decent,
hardworking people, but the contrary.

It will be interesting to see how white working people in Pennsylvania and
elsewhere will choose between being lionized and salivated over by
candidates who both have personal wealth of more than $100 million on the
one hand, and the diagnosis that something is actually wrong and a rather
vague (but concrete in a few respects) proposal for "change."

And I look forward to how McKinney uses this latest anti-Obama brouhaha to
advance her different social perspective.
Fred Feldman 

April 11, 2008,  9:43 pm 
Obama Slams Critics on Middle-Class Comments
By Jeff Zeleny

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - Senator Barack Obama forcefully criticized his rivals
here Friday evening for suggesting he was out-of-touch with the American
middle-class, after Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton and John McCain accused
Mr. Obama of belittling voters by calling them "bitter."

A fresh controversy over electability emerged from comments Mr. Obama had
made at a private fundraiser in California on Sunday. Mr. Obama outlined
challenges facing his presidential candidacy in the upcoming primaries of
Pennsylvania and Indiana, particularly winning over white working-class
voters who have fallen through the cracks of the last two presidential
administrations.

"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,"
Mr. Obama said, according to a transcript that appeared Friday on the
Hufington Post Web site.

The remarks touched off a torrent of criticism from Mrs. Clinton, Mr. McCain
and a string of Republican activists and party officials, all of whom
accused Mr. Obama of elitism and belittling the working class. At a rally
here Friday evening, Mr. Obama drawing a standing ovation in a crowded
gymnasium as he rebutted those charges and painted both of his rivals as
entrenched Washington insiders.

"No, I'm in touch. I know exactly what's going on. I know what's going on in
Pennsylvania, I know what's going on in Indiana, I know what's going on in
Illinois," Mr. Obama said, his voice rising. "People are fed up, they're
angry, they're frustrated, they're bitter and they want to see a change in
Washington. That's why I'm running for president of the United States of
America."

With 10 contests remaining in the Democratic presidential primary, Mr. Obama
and Mrs. Clinton are engaged in a vigorous dispute over which candidate
could be the party's strongest nominee against Mr. McCain. The
back-and-forth on Friday - with all three candidates involved - underscored
the curious dynamic at this late stage in the nominating fight.

In Pennsylvania on Friday afternoon, Mrs. Clinton was first to seize upon
the comment Mr. Obama made at the California fundraiser. Both Democrats are
embroiled in a vigorous battle for the Pennsylvania primary on April 22.
"It's being reported that my opponent said that the people of Pennsylvania
who faced hard times are bitter. Well, that's not my experience," Mrs.
Clinton told an audience at Drexel University. "Pennsylvanians don't need a
president who looks down on them, they need a president who stands up for
them, who fights for them, who works hard for your futures, your jobs, your
families."
After making her remarks before a crowd of voters, aides to Mrs. Clinton
issued several statements criticizing Mr. Obama, including ones that
contained criticism from Republicans. Soon, the McCain campaign also weighed
in with criticism of Mr. Obama's remarks from the California fundraiser.
"It shows an elitism and condescension towards hardworking Americans that is
nothing short of breathtaking," said Steve Schmidt, a senior adviser to Mr.
McCain. "It is hard to imagine someone running for president who is more out
of touch with average Americans."
While the Obama campaign initially dismissed the criticism in a short
written statement from its Chicago headquarters, his advisers quickly
concluded that Mr. Obama's remarks from the California fundraiser could be a
political liability as he seeks to win over working-class voters. He
responded with unusual force at a town meeting at a high school in Terre
Haute, seeking to explain his statement that voters are bitter.
"Here's what's rich. Senator Clinton said, 'Well I don't think people are
bitter in Pennsylvania. I think Barack is being condescending," Mr. Obama
said. "John McCain said, 'How could he say that? How could he say that
people are bitter? He obviously is out of touch with people.' Out of touch?
Out of touch? John McCain - it took him three times to finally figure out
that the home foreclosure was a problem and to come up with a plan for it
and he's saying I'm out of touch?"
The audience, comprised largely of Democratic voters, rose to its feet and
applauded as Mr. Obama delivered his defense. Late Friday evening, the
Indiana Republican Party accused Mr. Obama of belittling "Midwestern
values," and called upon Democrats to denounce the remark. The Pennsylvania
Republican party issued a similar call.


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