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Politics : View from the Center and Left -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Dale Baker who wrote (58949)	4/13/2008 10:31:52 AM
From: biotech_bull	Respond to of 542941

Saying people were bitter wasn't wrong but I thought saying they cling to guns,religion or antipathy because of their bitterness would alienate him from some of his voters. On the other hand maybe he figured he's not getting their votes anyway and just set up Clinton & McCain

To: Dale Baker who wrote (58949)	4/13/2008 10:55:50 AM
From: Lane3	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 542941

So saying people are bitter is wrong because.....? I don't know what anyone is supposed to say about this. If you try to stir up the troops with images of scapegoats, that's the populism that I hate. If you don't do that but try to express recognition of and legitimize their pain, which I think was what Obama was doing, you can comfort or you you can annoy the hell out of them depending on how well you do it and how receptive people are to it. If you suggest to people that somehow you can ease their pain when you have no means of doing that you belong in hell, IMO. You can offer some practical things that you can do to ease the symptoms but that won't really solve the problem like Obama's "Obama instead gave a rundown of his plans for expanding health care, taxing energy profits and closing tax loopholes for offshore companies." I guess people can evaluate those for themselves to see how lame or undoable they might be and you can claim you gave it a shot. You can tell people the truth, but that probably won't get you elected.

To: Dale Baker who wrote (58949)	4/13/2008 9:09:19 PM
From: TimF	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 542941

I think he took a bigger hit in certain circles from the "guns and religion" part, not the "people are bitter" part. The way he said it implies something wrong with guns or strong attachment to religion, and people who like one or both, will be upset with such an implication. Then combine that with bitter, and you get the implication that they are the bitter ones and that they are exceptionally bitter. Well its also the "anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations" part. People who are strongly anti-trade or anti-immigrant (or anti-illegal immigrant) see their positions are being seriously justified, and not just a matter of "bitterness", and "a way to explain their frustrations". People generally want their ideas to be taken seriously and this seems to dismiss their concerns, even while its trying to express sympathy for the people who hold those ideas.