by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright April 14, 2008
All Rights Reserved.

losing in on the April 22 Pennsylvania primary, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Il.) continues to get hit with everything but the kitchen sink from his rival Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.). Clinton finds herself behind the eight-ball, hopelessly trailing in pledged delegates, hoping to convince 795 superdelegates to back her candidacy. Last week Clinton shot herself in the foot, fabricating stories about her 1998 visit to Tuzla, Bosnsia, where she claimed on the stump to have dodged enemy fire. She made matters worse telling the press she “misspoke,” stemming from “sleep deprivation,” a scary thought when you consider her claims to be best-equipped to handle a late-night crisis. Since Barack spoke April 7 to a closed-door fund-raiser in San Francisco telling supporters that economically depressed small-town voters cling to guns, religion and immigrant-bashing.

      GOP nominee Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) milked the controversy, also calling Barack's comments elitist, hoping Hillary still had shot at winning. Since popular right-wing nationally syndicated radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh announced “Operation Chaos” before the March 4 Texas and Ohio primaries, droves of Republican voters crossed over to voted for Hillary. Hillary won Texas by collecting 134,000 Republican votes, following Rush's prescription to crossover and vote in the Democratic primary. McCain, too, follows Limbaugh's advice, bashing Obama and urging voters to vote for Hillary. GOP strategists believe McCain has a much better chance in November running against Hillary. “It lets Sen. Clinton off the mat, gives her basically a club to hit him with. And it helps Sen. McCain because it makes it easy for him to cast this as a race against a snob,” said Politico.com's Mike Allen.

      Speaking at an April 7 fund-raiser in San Francisco, Obama tried to explain the high levels of frustration in rural communities. “It's not surprising, then, they get bitter, the 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.” Barack told his San Francisco audience, giving Hillary an early Christmas gift. In the age of political correctness, stereotyping small-town America is strictly prohibited, leaving folks wondering about Barack's true feelings about ordinary citizens. “The truth is that these traditions that are passed on from generation to generation, those are important. That's what sustains us. But what is absolutely true is that people don't feel like they are being listened to,” said Obama, trying to explain away his offensive remarks about small-town voters.

      Hillary continues to consolidate support among white, blue-collar voters, not likely to vote for Obama. Barack's remarks, while not helping his cause, won't lose him too many votes, especially among white working class voters. Barack's appeal comes from populated urban centers, where upwardly mobile blacks, white and Hispanics see Bush's policies a catastrophic o economic progress. Hillary, a strong gun control advocate, went over the top expressing support for the Second Amendment, talking about her one-time duck-hunting adventure. It's one thing to slam Obama for his politically incorrect remarks, still another to feign interest in guns and opposition to the North American Free Trade Agreement. With job losses mounting, there's added frustration in the Rust Belt, the upper Midwest and Northeast, where bread-and-butter manufacturing shifts to overseas.

      Most Democrats believe a protracted battle for the Democratic nomination hurts the Party heading into November. Despite unable to win the pledged delegate race, Hillary hoped that Barack would make a fatal blunder before the next set of primaries. Telling small-town voters they “cling” to guns and religion couldn't be more incendiary, especially to right wing radio, jumping on the chance to bash Obama before the Pennsylvania primary. Hillary needs a big win to keep her campaign going. Painting Barack as an elitist before Pennsylvania might improve her margin on Election Day, breathing new life into her campaign. “Now, Americans who believe in the Second Amendment believe it's a matter of constitutional right. Americans who believe in God believe it's a matter of personal faith,” said Hillary, hoping to score as many points as possible before April 22.

      Obama's April 7 remarks to San Francisco fund-raisers are a “bitter” lesson in political correctness. Anytime you're asked to explain controversial remarks it takes valuable time away from more productive activity. ”People don't need a president who looks down on the them,” said Hillary, painting Barack as condescending. “They need a president who stands up for them,” milking the faux pas for everything it's worth. With a razor's edge separating the two candidates, Barack could ill-afford giving Hillary a leg up before the Pennsylvania primary. McCain and Hillary hope to pile on before Pennsylvania voters go to the polls. Hillary has no problem getting help from McCain and the GOP who would do just about anything to torpedo Obama's candidacy and run against her in November. So far, Hillary has a way of sabotaging herself. Piling on too much appears to backfire.

About the Author

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.

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