The title of my post was not the title of the article - it was my impression of wealthy Marin County Democrats to whom Senator Obama delivered his disparaging comments about small town America. My guess more Americans would agree with my characterization of wealthy San Franciscan liberals than would agree with Senator Obama's characterization of the residents of small towns in Pennsylvania and the Midwest.

 

And what part of the article or experience in your personal life leads to such an impression? I thought that you were of the group of conservatives that feel that rich people have the right to be and stay that way? Or are the wealthy liberals the only elitist snobs and the wealthy conservatives, hard working, smart, able patriotic americans?

And what part of the article or experience in your personal life leads to such an impression? I thought that you were of the group of conservatives that feel that rich people have the right to be and stay that way? Or are the wealthy liberals the only elitist snobs and the wealthy conservatives, hard working, smart, able patriotic americans?

I never said that liberal snobs of San Francisco have no "right to be and stay that way." My post merely pointed out another political blunder by Barack Obama.

 

As for patriotic Americans, I do not view the Americans of nearby Berkeley, most of whom are almost certainly Obama supporters, who have harrassed US Marine recruiters to be patriotic. I do not consider the supporters of liberal Democratic Mayor Gavin Newsome, who has shown little respect for US laws on immigration and who showed no respect for state laws when he performed illegal gay marriages, to be patriotic Americans. Patriotic Americans respect the right of all Americans to free speech, but they also respect the rule of law.

 

As for snobbery, of course conservatives can be equally snobs to their liberal San Franciscan counterparts, but they were not in Obama's target audience, so I did not feel compelled to discuss conservative elitists and instead focused on the elitists to whom Obama made his offensive remarks.

 

Finally, in response to your question about what part of the article to which I linked might have given my the impression that Obama was speaking to an audience of elitist liberal snobs, please see the bolded text below.

 

Any thoughts on how Obama's remarks will play in Smalltown, America, which was the gist of my original post?

 

Obama made a problematic judgment call in trying to explain working class culture to a much wealthier audience. He described blue collar Pennsylvanians with a series of what

in the eyes of creamy Californians might be considered pure negatives: guns, clinging to religion, antipathy, xenophobia.

 

I'm not sure this is what at least this lot of Californians needed to hear about Pennsylvanians. Such phrases can reinforce negative stereotypes among Californians, who are a

people in a state already surfeited with a smug sense of superiority

and, as an ironic consequence, a parochialism and insularity at odds with the innovation, prosperity and openness for which California is rightly known. (Of course, this is a generalization, and as such does not fit everyone; but as a state characteristic I stand by it.) Californians might be better served by hearing that Pennsylvanians have a strong sense of their place in American history, for here California is wanting. California needs to hear that other Americans have gone through hard times and survived, humor intact. Since Barack Obama sees himself as the candidate best able to unify the country, these are the messages he needs to carry and his frank words about Pennsylvania may not have translated very clearly.

Hey, if sweeping generalizations is your thing, I'm not going to stand in your way.

Hey, if sweeping generalizations is your thing, I'm not going to stand in your way.

If I am guilty as you charge of "making sweeping generalizations," then I am less guilty than Senator Obama. Obama characterized the many residents of small towns in the Midwest as narrow minded bigots who cling to their guns and Bibles because of bitterness toward the Clintons and Bushes.

 

Obama was, as a matter of fact, addressing the wealthy liberal Democratic supporters of San Francisco. Yet you have chosen to seize upon my comparatively limited generalization and have ignored Obama's much broader generalization, despite the fact that I am not yet a candidate for the presidency. Are you engaging in a preemptive attack? :lol:

If I am guilty as you charge of "making sweeping generalizations," then I am less guilty than Senator Obama. Obama characterized the many residents of small towns in the Midwest as narrow minded bigots who cling to their guns and Bibles because of bitterness toward the Clintons and Bushes.

 

Obama was, as a matter of fact, addressing the wealthy liberal Democratic supporters of San Francisco. Yet you have chosen to seize upon my comparatively limited generalization and have ignored Obama's much broader generalization, despite the fact that I am not yet a candidate for the presidency. Are you engaging in a preemptive attack? :lol:

 

When will you hold your press conference announcing your candidacy?

When will you hold your press conference announcing your candidacy?

I have no plans to run at this time, but if my potential supporters will raise just $50 million and get me on the ballots on all 50 states, then I will seriously consider flip-flopping my position.

 

In contrast to Senator Obama:

 

1. I have no controversial pastor and none of my friends and associates have ever bombed any federal buildings to my knowledge.

 

2. My wife is and has always been proud of our country.

 

3. Although I would not describe myself as a good bowler, I cannot recall ever rolling a 37 or below. I would not embarrass my supporters with my performance in the bowling alleys of America.

 

That's all I've got for now. I would probably just tack on Ronald Reagan's positions to round out my own platform if I decided to run. I have also got copies of many of Reagan's speeches.

 

Since Obama and Clinton have already traded charges of plagiarism, nobody should care if I save a few bucks on speech writers. :lol:

 

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.

 

First of all, anti-trade sentiment, wouldn't that be supporting a Democrat position?

 

Second of all, they "cling to religion" to explain frustration sounds like something Karl Marx, an atheist, said- "religion is the opiate of the masses". Not saying that Obama is an atheist or a socialist, but "cling to religion" is poor wording on his part IMO.

Lost among his other insults that were directed at small town Americans was Obama's assertion that people in small towns are reluctant to support him because he is a black man.

 

"

Everybody just ascribes it to 'white working-class . . . don't want to vote for the black guy

,' " Obama said at the fundraiser.

 

"Here's how it is: In a lot of these communities in big industrial states like Ohio and Pennsylvania, people have been beaten down so long. They feel so betrayed by government that when they hear a pitch that is premised on not being cynical about government, then a part of them just doesn't buy it.

And when it's delivered by -- it's true that when it's delivered by a 46-year-old black man named Barack Obama, then that adds another layer of skepticism

." -

Opponents Paint Obama as an Elitist

I see a real possibility that Obama's once promising election prospects will end in a Dukakisesque loss. If Obama believes that he can win the support of white small town Americans by implying that they are racist, then he is in for a big disappointment.

First of all, anti-trade sentiment, wouldn't that be supporting a Democrat position?

 

Second of all, they "cling to religion" to explain frustration sounds like something Karl Marx, an atheist, said- "religion is the opiate of the masses". Not saying that Obama is an atheist or a socialist, but "cling to religion" is poor wording on his part IMO.

I agree that Obama chose his words poorly for the broader American audience but I am sure that his speech received a warm response from his audience. The speech was delivered on Sunday but it was not picked up by the national media until Friday.

 

I also agree that Obama's views on religion seem to be in line with Marx's. He joined a church and has remained a member for political reasons and yet religion will play a big role in his defeat if he loses. I still expect Obama to switch churches for the general election or at least become a "religious free agent."

Lost among his other insults that were directed at small town Americans was Obama's assertion that people in small towns are reluctant to support him because he is a black man.

 

"

Everybody just ascribes it to 'white working-class . . . don't want to vote for the black guy

,' " Obama said at the fundraiser.

 

"Here's how it is: In a lot of these communities in big industrial states like Ohio and Pennsylvania, people have been beaten down so long. They feel so betrayed by government that when they hear a pitch that is premised on not being cynical about government, then a part of them just doesn't buy it.

And when it's delivered by -- it's true that when it's delivered by a 46-year-old black man named Barack Obama, then that adds another layer of skepticism

." -

Opponents Paint Obama as an Elitist

I see a real possibility that Obama's once promising election prospects will end in a Dukakisesque loss. If Obama believes that he can win the support of white small town Americans by implying that they are racist, then he is in for a big disappointment.

 

I love how you make the assumption that anytime a black guy makes a statement about race he's racist. Common conservative talking point right there. Obama has been trying to court white working class voters and he's pointing out that they've been skeptical of him, which polls indicate. "Everybody ascribes it to the white working class.....not wanting to vote for a black guy". Sounds a lot like he's quoting things we've heard pundits say for the past four months. Oh, but he's black and pointing out a race thing so I guess he's racist. Let's go get him a hood, matches and a kerosene soaked cross.

I love how you make the assumption that anytime a black guy makes a statement about race he's racist. Common conservative talking point right there. Obama has been trying to court white working class voters and he's pointing out that they've been skeptical of him, which polls indicate. "Everybody ascribes it to the white working class.....not wanting to vote for a black guy". Sounds a lot like he's quoting things we've heard pundits say for the past four months. Oh, but he's black and pointing out a race thing so I guess he's racist. Let's go get him a hood, matches and a kerosene soaked cross.

 

He's not racist, he's blind. If he believes that even a significant fraction of the people who aren't voting for him aren't voting for him because he's black, then he's going to lose his lead and the race because he's blind. Your own boy Keith Olbermann even said that on Tuesday.

I love how you make the assumption that anytime a black guy makes a statement about race he's racist. Common conservative talking point right there. Obama has been trying to court white working class voters and he's pointing out that they've been skeptical of him, which polls indicate. "Everybody ascribes it to the white working class.....not wanting to vote for a black guy". Sounds a lot like he's quoting things we've heard pundits say for the past four months. Oh, but he's black and pointing out a race thing so I guess he's racist. Let's go get him a hood, matches and a kerosene soaked cross.

Depends on how Barack Hussein Obama is coming across to the "white working class voters" I guess. I don't think AcesFull is saying anytime a black guy makes a statement about race he's racist at all. You have to stop thinking that Barack Hussein Obama is untouchable because he's black though, IMO, that's the drift I'm getting from you.

I love how you make the assumption that anytime a black guy makes a statement about race he's racist. Common conservative talking point right there. Obama has been trying to court white working class voters and he's pointing out that they've been skeptical of him, which polls indicate. "Everybody ascribes it to the white working class.....not wanting to vote for a black guy". Sounds a lot like he's quoting things we've heard pundits say for the past four months. Oh, but he's black and pointing out a race thing so I guess he's racist. Let's go get him a hood, matches and a kerosene soaked cross.

I never said that Obama is racist. What I said is that he is implying that whites who are not supporting him are racists and that will make them less likely to vote for him. Obama chose a racist pastor as his religious mentor and now he implies that white people in small towns are racists because they are not supporting his campaign. In fact, the chickens are simply coming home to roost. In other words, if you lie down with dogs you get up with fleas.

If I am guilty as you charge of "making sweeping generalizations," then I am less guilty than Senator Obama. Obama characterized the many residents of small towns in the Midwest as narrow minded bigots who cling to their guns and Bibles because of bitterness toward the Clintons and Bushes.

 

Obama was, as a matter of fact, addressing the wealthy liberal Democratic supporters of San Francisco. Yet you have chosen to seize upon my comparatively limited generalization and have ignored Obama's much broader generalization, despite the fact that I am not yet a candidate for the presidency. Are you engaging in a preemptive attack? :lol:

 

I am not making any attack. I am an undecided voter. But...there is a word for people that vehemently attack another by doing the same thing they accuse the other of doing. :sssh:

I am not making any attack. I am an undecided voter. But...there is a word for people that vehemently attack another by doing the same thing they accuse the other of doing. :sssh:

:lol: Still no comment on Obama's remarks I see. Maybe you should start a new thread with my characterization of San Francisco liberals as the topic. If you do, please don't forget to include a poll.