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It is too bad the talking heads and the Clintons would rather create another diversion then deal with the real issue that Obama tried to raise in a 15 second badly worded sound bite. The fact of the matter is that rural America IS hurting real bad. Rising gas prices, a broken health care system, free trade policies that hurt the middle class, and farm subsidies that predominantly go to the multi-million dollar corporate farms.
Of course rural America is bitter. Who wouldn't be under the current conditions. Obama attempted to start a dialogue to address this because for too long politicians on both sides have tried to distract rural American with wedge issues like Religion, immigrants, guns, and gays instead of addressing the ACTUAL problems.
No one is trying to discount these other side issues but the fact is NONE of these issues will do anything to alleviate the frustrations that rural America is feeling right now.