Clinton, McCain Lash Out At Obama’s Use of Word ‘Bitter’ In Comments

Presidential hopeful Senator Barack Obama has been under attack from Senator Hillary Clinton’s and John McCain’s campaign for his use of the word ‘bitter’ in comments made regarding small towns.

Presidential hopeful Senator Barack Obama has been under attack from Senator Hillary Clinton’s and John McCain’s campaign accusing the Senator of not being ‘in touch with the people’.

“You go into some of 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 has 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.”

This is the comment that has supposedly now left Obama defending himself and the comments he made.

In addressing the issue Senator Barack Obama has stated, that he said something “that everybody knows is true.”

In his speech in Indiana on April 11th, Obama spoke about when he was asked how was he going to get votes in Pennsylvania, what’s going on there and that they heard it’s hard for him to get working class people to get behind his campaign. “Well look, they’re frustrated and for good reasons, because for the last 25 years they have seen jobs shipped over seas. They’ve seen their economies collapse, they have lost their jobs, they’ve lost their pensions, they’ve lost their healthcare. And for 25 – 30 years Democrats and Republicans have come before them and said we’re going to make your community better. We’re going to make it right and nothing ever happens. And of course they’re bitter and of course they’re frustrated and you would be too and in fact many of you are, because the same things have happened here in Indiana, same thing happened across the border in Decatur, and the same thing has happened all across the country. Nobody is looking out for you and nobody is thinking about you,” Obama stated.

Are small town people happy with their current economic situation? Is America happy with the current economic situation? Do the American people in small towns turn to religion when times get rough? How does America feel about the statements Obama made? This is the question.

A response from a blog commenter writes, “I for one AM bitter! This government has failed the American people! Hillary Clinton is the one who is ‘out of touch’ if she really thinks that everyday people aren’t bitter, frustrated, angry etc. Give me a break, can we please talk about the things that matter, the economy, Iraq, Iran (Hillary voted for the Iran resolution), CAFTA, NAFTA?!?,” signed Bitter in WI.

Another response from a blog commenter writes, “I understand completely with what Obama is saying. It doesn’t surprise me that Clinton and McCain don’t get it. Congress hasn’t gotten it for longer than I can remember. That accounts for their 18% approval rating. Who wouldn’t be bitter when they lose their jobs, their health care, their houses, their pensions-
all through no fault of their own. And, the government is completely unresponsive to them. The comments about guns and religion and illegal immigrants was inartful. But what Obama is saying is that when you don’t feel that your vote counts when it comes to economic issues and constitutional issues than you vote social issues. You cling to your religion. We all do that. We’re all a lot more religious when things are not going well than we are when everything is good. I’ve been working on that for years. I’m not into guns but when you feel that you’re not in control of so many things; I can see where having a gun makes you feel in control of, at least, your family’s safety and you feel like, if I can hunt, I can feed my family. The people who are hurting in this economy, I think, will understand what Barack said because they’re living it.,” signed Sue, Bloomington, IN.

Another blog commenter with opposite reactions writes, “As his remarks imply…..Obama is just what he appears to the discerning eye… A condescending, arrogant, elitist who, like all left wingers, would transform America into a ‘benevolent plantation’, and American citizens into bureaucratic chattel,” signed Floyd.

Only time will tell what America believes or doesn’t believe.

Below is Barack Obama’s video speech in Indiana addressing Hilary Clinton’s and John McCain’s response to his use of the word ‘bitter’ in his speech. Also below is a link to the CNN video of responses to Clinton and McCain attacks of Obama’s ‘bitter’ comments.