I don't blame Hillary Clinton for trying to take advantage of this opportunity to win over voters by jumping on Obama's recent remarks, but really, is there anyone out there who honestly doesn't think that some Americans are bitter in exactly the way Obama said some Americans are bitter? You're Goddamn right some Americans are bitter, and with good reason, too.
Clinton supporters are handing out "I'm Not Bitter" bumper stickers. Clinton herself is telling people what they want to hear by saying things like, "The people of faith I know don't 'cling' to religion because they're bitter. People embrace faith not because they are materially poor, but because they are spiritually rich." Actually, Hillary, there are a certain number of people out there who latch on to religion because they're poor or bitter or empty inside, and you damn well know it. But it's a smart thing to say strategically, because it makes it sound as if Obama characterized all religious people as being religious for negative reasons, which of course he didn't.
Yes, this is sound political strategy. It just makes me sad that a statement reflecting an unfortunate truth of today's political climate is apparently too much for some people to handle, that Hillary Clinton, who must know in her heart of hearts that Obama was right, has more to gain by denying this truth than by acknowledging it. As David Cross once said about our current president's tendency to put things in idiotically simplistic and downright false terms, "Are we a nation of six-year-olds? Answer: yes."
(The opinions expressed here are mine alone, certainly not those of Barack Obama or any other Obama supporter, all of whom believe that all Americans are totally optimistic people who harbor no feelings of disappointment or bitterness whatsoever.)
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3 comments:
True. True. However, isn't this how politics has worked for years? Obama is no exception to "context abuse". Even he has taken Hillary's comments out on context and twisted them in a way which benefits his campaign. I may be a Clinton supporter, but I do agree with you on your point. I just don't think its fair to insinuate that Clinton is the only politician guilty of this. :)
You're absolutely right, Clinton is most definitely not the only politician who has ever done this, not by a longshot, and I didn't mean to insinuate that she was. And I really didn't mean for it to be so much critical of her as critical of those potential voters who had a negative reaction to Obama's statement. Basically, this just happens to be something that is getting a lot of attention right now, and that I felt like bloggin' about. :)
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