PrintApril 12, 2008
Hillary Clinton's Last Big Opening
Barack Obama's elitist remarks about God, guns, and bigotry represent Hillary Clinton's last chance to alter the dynamics of the campaign - especially with superdelegates - and show Democrats that nominating Barack Obama would be a disaster:
Yesterday, Clinton hit Obama for calling Pennsylvanians "bitter," ground on which he fairly ably engaged.Clinton may or may not be able to turn her fortunes around by exploiting Obama's tone deafness. But at the very least she has caused the march of superdelegates to Obama's side to halt and sniff the air.
Today, she's onto the other half of his San Francisco remarks, in which he linked economic frustration to clinging to religion and guns (the part he sought to walk back this morning in Muncie, Ind.).
"Sen. Obama's remarks are elitist, and they are out of touch," Clinton said. "The people of faith I know don't 'cling to' religion because they're bitter. ... I also disagree with Sen. Obama's assertion that people in this country 'cling to guns' and have certain attitudes about immigration or trade simply out of frustration. People of all walks of life hunt — and they enjoy doing so because it's an important part of their life, not because they are bitter." Now, this is more a general election wedge than a Democratic primary one, and Hillary Clinton may not be the world's best messenger on the Second Amendment. But it's a preview of things to come.
She still doesn't have the line of attack quite right - Obama's belief in a white middle class "false consciousness" that prevents them for voting for liberals because they "cling" to values issues like religion - the "opiate of the masses" Obama is hinting. It is the breathtaking arrogance of Obama to ascribe stupidity and fear to the voter as an explanation as to why they keep voting for Republicans that should be the major attack points for McCain during the fall.
As for Hillary, forget the polls in Pennsylvania for any clue about how deep this incident will cut. Look at North Carolina and Indiana polls and, if it is released, the middle class (less than $50,000 a year) white male vote. If Obama's support wanes with that group, he may very well be in trouble.
This story could be a 24 hour phenomenon - at least for now. I would fully expect the GOP to make considerable hay with Obama's remarks first at the convention and then during the general election.
