Monday, April 14, 2008

Obama: The bane of bitter idiots.

At a private fundraiser this weekend Obama made the following statement:

"You go into these small towns in Pennsylvania, and like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing's replaced them. And they fell through the Clinton Administration and the Bush Administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are going to regenerate and they have not. And it's not surprising, then, 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."

This morning American Research Group reported that Clinton now leads 57% to 37% where before the "bitter" statement Obama was only 5% behind. So, apparently, Obama pissed some people off with that statement. And hell if I can figure out why.

The statement is not inaccurate. Disenfranchised, embittered people embrace scapegoats to explain their frustrating predicaments. They cling to guns as a symbol of power against the system which they think has betrayed them. They cling to religion as a security blanket against the harsh reality in which they live. They lash out at immigrant workers, supposed terrorists, and any other readily available scapegoat onto which they can grasp in an effort to make themselves feel better, to shift the blame from their own inadequacies onto the shoulders of those perceived to be usurpers and thieves.

Clinton portrayed the comment as "elitist and divisive". Her campain now focuses on the quote as indicative of Obama's elitist attitude, his lack of respect and appreciation for the working class. I'm sure the 24 hour news networks will be inundated with pablum regarding whether or not Obama is an elitist poo head.

I am at something of a loss here. The statement was not inaccurate, insulting, or problematic. It was not false. But now a bunch of racist gun loving Isaiah quoting dipshits are leading a slack-jawed, poorly spelled campaign against Obama as Clinton's minions spin the spin and lie.

I hope this all sorts itself out and the enraged masses pull their heads out of their asses, read the damn quote, and shut the fuck up. Unfortunately this time the pissed off idiots are the genuine idiots; the gun totin', bible thumpin', immigrant hatin' dregs of society.

Hell hath no fury like a dipshit scorned.