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| Obama's "Bitter-gate" Posted by Dennis Hardin on 4/14, 2:56pm | ||
| Barack Obama’s remarks at a ‘closed door’ fundraiser in San Francisco a week ago have put his campaign in hot water. "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," Obama said. "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." Obama is clearly on the defensive over his comments, and it appears he may be dropping in some polls. Hillary Clinton is eagerly pouncing on him for “patronizing” the middle class. Much of the heat on him derives from the implication that people might “cling” to religion, guns and xenophobia pragmatically as emotional solace rather than hold such ideas as a firm philosophical foundation of their lives. They are questioning the sincerity of his religious beliefs, among other things. Some commentators have suggested that this comment reflects Obama’s “elitism.” Conservatives say that his remarks are perfectly consistent with the typical liberal’s condescending view of rural America. Others have accused Obama of revealing Marxist underpinnings—i.e., that religion is the “opium of the people.” In other words, economic hardship dictates religious belief. Hillary Clinton has voiced her concern that Obama’s comment would harm the Democratic Party’s chances, showing that Democrats, as in the past two elections, are “out of touch” with the values of the electorate. She suggested that both Gore and Kerry presented themselves as “men of faith,” but large segments of America didn’t buy it. Some analysts are saying that Obama’s remarks reveal that, as in the past, “the [Democratic] effort to woo religious voters is more rhetoric than substance." On the eve of the arrival of Pope Benedict XVI in the United States, both candidates scrambled to appeal to Catholic voters. Obama described religion as a “bulwark” in his life. Asked to speculate on why God allowed people to suffer, Clinton replied: “I don’t know. I can’t wait to ask him.” And Hillary didn’t stop there. "I have, ever since I have been a little girl have felt the presence of God in my life," Clinton said. "It has been a gift of grace that has been sustaining. Ever since I was a little child I have felt the enveloping love of God." She even spoke about “taking a walk in the woods” with God. Would George Bush get laughed out of the room for such comments? Clinton is pandering, of course. It would be hard to conceive of anything she would not say to win the presidency, but, amazingly, it seems to be working for her. (Like my philosophy professor used to say: “Holy Cow! Barnum was right!”). Do some leading Objectivists continue to claim that Democrats are the better choice because, unlike Republicans, they do not glorify religion as their inspiration and ideological base? They may want to check their premises. | ||
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