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Politics : Liberalism: Do You Agree We've Had Enough of It?
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To: Peter Dierks who wrote (25658)4/15/2008 6:44:36 PM
From: Ann Corrigan  Read Replies (1) of 224717
 
A campaign con?--Obama's Feet of Clay

By G. Terry Madonna, Franklin and Marshall College
April 15, 2008

To adopt a technical term widely used in Pennsylvania politics, Democrat Barack Obama "stepped in it" last week during a talk in San Francisco. He did so when he described working class Pennsylvanians as a "bitter" lot who "cling to guns or religion or antipathy toward people who are not like them."

There is no doubt about what he said. The question now is will it matter: first to his tight race with Hillary Clinton in Pennsylvania, and secondly to the ultimate outcome of the Democratic nomination contest.

Candidates unguarded comments often suggest problematic personal traits or attitudes that the voters somehow earlier had suspected, but had not seen.

And for Obama what possible flaws do his remarks reveal? For many the answer will be that they expressed his inner beliefs toward the working class, exposing an elitist and patronizing attitude towards them. Some will conclude that when hobnobbing in private with rich donors his real sentiments were on display, and the sentiments he expressed in private were his real views. Further some will believe Obama's remarks raise serious questions about his authenticity. They call into question whether his appeals to working class voters have been mere contrivances, mere vote getting activities. And even more profoundly Obama's remarks reinforce the belief of those who say there is much more to know about the Senator's real values and real attitudes. Some will say Obama has become a candidate with feet of clay.

For Obama the consequences seem both short and long term. In the short run, Obama's words are likely to do serious damage to his campaign in Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania working class voters constitute about 40 percent of the Democratic vote. Obama's claim to understand and to identify with them has been dealt a serious blow after a largely successful two week surge in the state. The Clinton campaign is already capitalizing on the controversy. It may be enough to propel her to that big victory that seemed so unlikely only a few days ago.

Longer term his comments deriding the religious and cultural values of working class Americans will cause some to dismiss his claim to be a national unifier. Indeed, his remarks make his unity theme sound like little more than a campaign con. He has probably assured that the nomination race will now go on well past Pennsylvania--to an ultimate fate that few if any can predict.

Dr. G. Terry Madonna is Professor of Public Affairs at Franklin and Marshall College
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