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As an Obama supporter I'm torn on the "Bittergate" issue.
On the one hand, I was a little disturbed by the initial comments. Not because I felt condescended by Barrack Obama. Because I realized what he said or at least the way he worded it has the potential to hurt him in the fall.
On the other hand, it's a really sad state of affairs when a candidate momentarily speaking the truth, albeit in a way that could be perceived as tactless, is the kind of "gaffe" that could prevent him from being elected.
So it's partly Obama's fault for saying something that could be easily distorted and misused by his opponents. But it's mainly the fault of political pundits like Joan who endlessly debate the effect of Obama's comments without any regard to whether they're true.
Far as this playing into the effette, out-of-touch liberal meme, all I can say is ... please. This is the same playbook the Republican party has used since 2000. The Democratic party could nominate Ronald Reagan and today's GOP would still be parsing his public quotes to make him out to be a flip-flopping radical lib.
The answer isn't to shrink away from saying or doing anything that might reinforce that meme. What candidates need to do is confront these charges head-on and without fear. This is exactly what the Obama has done, and now Joan says they're being "defensive."
You just can't win with some folks.
Finally, as a Pennsylvanian I'm more than a little tired of being told by talking heads that I want a voter who connects with me by pretending to like Yeungling and bowling. This is bullshit. Nothing is more elitist or condescending than candidates who visit my city for a cheesesteak and expect the photo in the Daily News to warm my heart, as if I'm going to vote for Hillary or Obama because they eat at Geno's and do shots like a regular Joe. No thanks.
Obama is from Chicago - not Scranton, not Harrisburg, not Allentown. He knows it. The voters know it. To be honest, it's refreshing to have a candidate who's NOT trying to convince me he's the kind of guy I'd meet at the local pub. Obama's poor attempt at bowling was, I thought, kind of endearing. On the other hand, Hillary's transparent attempts to show she's a longtime sportsman who does shots of whiskey on a regular basis, at least in my crowd, go over like a fart in church.
Joan, how about covering actually issues? Like policy positions and who might make the better president? Too many people in your line of work are so focused on covering the horse race that you forget there's something at stake in this election. As a PA voter, I find that more elitist and condescending than Obama's poor choice of words.
- Mike in Philly
