Saturday, April 12, 2008

Obama Calls Pennsylvanians 'Bitter'.. Why He's Right, and How to Fix It....



We Are Penn State !! We Are .... BITTER ???



Mark it down now. If I die soon, Bobby did it, and it will probably be for this post....... If you were watching the news this week, you may have seen Barack utter his first 'oops' - that is, say something he wished he didn't. Of course, he didn't apologize for saying it. Nope, in true Obama fashion, he tried to justify what he said....




To make it easier, here is the ABC News clip of it...



The Huffington Post's Mayhill Fowler reports that, at that same San Francisco fundraiser where Obama revealed his previously unknown college sojourn to Pakistan, the junior senator from Illinois seemed to try to get inside the mind of small towners in Pennsylvania, with a dose of sociology and a dollop of dime-store psychology.



"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 they fell through the Clinton Administration, and the Bush Administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna 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."It seems to me that this comment could be interpreted fairly easily as dismissing people who hold views on guns, or religion, or immigration, or trade because they believe in those views -- and not because they're "bitter" or lashing back at a system that has discarded them.





Now, as the son of a man born in Luzerne, Pa. , the grandson of a Pa. coalminer who still has at least 50 relatives there, and who's friends all seem to be from the Keystone State as well, it's hard for me to be non-committal. And i think a lot of voters will as well. Adding to the fact that he didn't say this in Philadelphia or Pittsburgh, but in..... GULP... SAN FRANCISCO ....didn't help his cause much. In short, after 5 weeks of doing everything right and chipping away 20 points of Hillary Clinton's lead, he just commented his way out of winning. Clinton wins Pennsylvania by 12-15 points....





The obvious aside, maybe Obama is right. I know my Dad is a pretty cranky guy. My uncles all seemed like dour fellas who liked arguing a bit too much, but I thought it was just me. Yes, it's cold there, the sun rarely shines, and any state responsible for Will Smith can't be too good.... Of course they're bitter.. What other state waits in such anticipation for the chance to kill something - check out Deer Season there. School is canceled so they can hunt....





I think there is a different reason Pennsylvanians are so bitter - Penn State Football. Take away the 1994 split title with Georgia Tech, and it's been 22 years since the Nittany Lions have won a National Championship. Sure, if that were the case, then South Carolinians should be twice as bitter - and maybe we are, but I digress on that point. Maybe another time. Football is life in PA, and sure, the Steelers won a few years ago, but the Lions hold a special place in everyone's hearts there.





While Obama may be correct, his mouth will likely cost him locking up the nomination, and Hillary has one person to thank for it......... Joe Paterno.


I've fallen, and I can't get up....
No Coach, thank You !!
.

9 comments:

earlcapps said...

Obama is not someone who can win the race by playing long. Maybe he can run the clock out with his own party's nomination, but more and more, it looks like everyone else is figuring him out.

Smarter Democrats seem to realize this, and they're doing all they can to keep him from getting the nomination. They may or may not succeed in this, but they're certainly doing a bang-up job of tearing their party down.

Thoroughbred 401k said...

You have it right here from the best political analyst that will comment on my blog ! Agreed, but it may be too late to stop him this year. As a Republican, it is interesting watching the Dems implode on themselves again. I just hope that the GOP doesn't see this as a mandate for them. We have A LOT of work to do....

Anonymous said...

We do have a lot of work to do. I will not comment anymore on this subject as I could care less how they do it up north.

Thoroughbred 401k said...

Now, Moye drives a Buick... And Alphonso Ribiero was on Silver Spoons, and he was the Tap Dance Kid !!!

You're a little big for me, but I bet I could take JoPa 2 out of 3 falls...

Anonymous said...

I do drive a Buick and a Chevy truck. My son has the same. In fact out of 7 siblings and over 30 neice and nephews we only have two cars not an American brand. Both German. While I am not going to comment too much on what Mr. Bobby posted now you can believe I may later. He certainly is in need of a hug for sure. You need to give him one Mike.

Thoroughbred 401k said...

Thanks for taking the high road Moye. I'll give Bobby a big hug when I get back to Flotown..

Anonymous said...

the above is a representation of what happens with lack of sleep! we yankees are all just tired and cranky from working so hard to hold the rest of this country together.

Thoroughbred 401k said...

Sometimes we do think of ourselves that way, but locals often force us to think that way too. I've been if Flotown for 11 years, and a lot of people don't consider me a Florentine , because I wasn't born here, or my Dad doesn't own soemthing in town. But I remain undeterred...

I AM LOCAL !!!

Anonymous said...

I"M STILL BITTER!!!