I've been impressed by Barack Obama in this campaign -- though
his domestic agenda is far too liberal for me I've not felt put off
by any of his rhetoric nearly so much as his comments about small
town voters in Pennsylvania. They're a reminder that he buys into
the Marxist strain of thought shared by most Democrats -- as many
noted in response to What's the Matter with
Kansas, it's dubious to imagine that were everyone
economically secure, gun culture, religious faith and values voters
would disappear from American politics.
One thing I like about Obama is his seeming ability to
understand plausible arguments offered by people who disagree with
him. Hillary Clinton says she's a fighter -- she'll go to
Washington and fight off those nasty Republicans. Obama casts
himself as someone who understands that Republicans aren't nasty
people -- someone who'll aim to persuade and compromise to pass an
agenda that the GOP would nevertheless ultimately disagree
with.
That's why these remarks may be particularly damaging to Obama
-- they call into question whether he really grasps the mindset of
those whose beliefs differ from his own. Should he be elected I
hope these remarks prove themselves an anomoly, or that he is at
least chastened by the controversy they've generated, for there is
value in someone whose views are moderated by an appreciation for
the strongest objections to them.
In any case, I can't say that his blunder makes me prefer
Senator Clinton as a potential POTUS, for I've no doubt that she
too has elitist contempt for small town voters who like their guns
and their religion.
Quoth Mrs. Clinton:
"You know, my dad took me out behind the cottage
that my grandfather built on a little lake called Lake Winola
outside of Scranton and taught me how to shoot when I was a little
girl," she said.
"You know, some people now continue to teach their children and
their grandchildren. It's part of culture. It's part of a way of
life. People enjoy hunting and shooting because it's an important
part of who they are. Not because they are bitter."
Hillary Clinton, gun culture sympathizer and afficianado. What a
patronizing phony.
topics:
Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Religion, NATO
