When it comes to the political world, I get the sense “bitter-gate” — yep, the story apparently now gets a “gate” — went from zero to 60 in just a couple of seconds.
Obama is pushing back hard…
…while Clinton is sounding an awful lot like a Republican candidate.
It’s unfortunate, but in some ways, this flap reinforces why a prolonged Democratic primary process is bad for the party. We now have two dominant forces — the Republican machine and the Clinton machine — simultaneously arguing, vehemently and loudly, that the likely Democratic nominee is an elitist, out-of-touch liberal who doesn’t like working families and embraces un-American values. It’s absurd, but that’s exactly the message dominating the political landscape right now.
As Noam Scheiber put it, “Strange how the Clinton approach to strengthening the Democratic Party is remarkably similar to the GOP’s approach to strengthening the Democratic Party.”
Now, it’s probably not quite that simple. Clinton smells blood in the water, and figures this is arguably her last real chance to bury the frontrunner.
But therein lies the biggest problem: Obama’s remarks were clumsy, but the forced outrage is excessive and disproportionate.
Joe Trippi put it this way:”The fight in Pennsylvania is over working people. It should not surprise anyone that Obama is speaking to their frustrations, or that Clinton is branding Obama an elitist. Obama crossed the line to touch the two issues — guns and religion — that most politicians try hard to avoid, but that is part of his appeal and he quickly moved to explain his words. It’s unlikely to stop his march to the nomination. It is more likely that the Clinton campaign did itself more damage by crossing the line and insinuating once again that Obama was somehow un-American.”
Apparently, that won’t, however, stop the attack ads (from the rival Democrat, that is).
Clinton and McCain pounced simultaneously, with identical messages, in large part because this is all they’ve got. Jeremiah Wright simply wasn’t enough. Obama gave them an opportunity with a couple of awkward sentences, but at the same time, he also captured some real, genuine disaffection that exists in plenty of communities nationwide.
If Obama had been reading from a prepared text, or sticking to carefully-crafted talking points, he certainly wouldn’t have phrased this point the same way. But he was making an observation about why voters have been willing to give up on voting on economic issues, and here’s the kicker: I think he was probably right.
If I were advising the Obama campaign, I’d actually embrace the controversial quote. Of course folks in small towns are clinging to their guns; they’ve been led to believe the state is coming to take away their 2nd Amendment rights. Of course they cling to their faith; given the economic turmoil in their communities, they have to cling to institutions that give them strength and hope. Of course they’re bitter; while millionaires and wealthy corporations have been well represented in corridors of power for as long as they can remember, they’ve been working harder, making less, and feeling like they’ve been left behind.
That’s not an un-American sentiment. That’s not reflective of poor values. That’s not elitism. That’s reality.
Regardless, I get the impression that this really is the campaign. Clinton is going after Obama’s arguably accurate remarks with everything she’s got, and the Obama campaign, on the defensive, is pushing back with everything it’s got. Superdelegates are watching, the media has nothing else to talk about, and how this flap shakes out in the next few days will tell us an awful lot about what to expect from the next few months.