Obama Offers Truth, Elites Offer Spin

To hear the pseudo-storm of criticism over Senator Obama's remarks in San Francisco about frustrated small-town voters, you'd think he'd called us hicks and rubes. To review, here's the main paragraph Senator Clinton, Senator McCain, and lots of bloggers want to turn into the biggest issue in the campaign:

[T]he truth is, is that, our challenge is to get people persuaded that we can make progress when there's not evidence of that in their daily lives. You go into some of these small towns in Pennsylvania, and like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing's replaced them. And they fell through the Clinton administration, and the Bush administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not. And it's not surprising then they get bitter, they 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 Obama, speech at fundraising event, Pacific Heights, San Francisco, 2008.04.06].

There's no hicks-and-rubes talk there, just an honest assessment of why some people feel and vote the way they do. As was the case in his March 18 speech on racism and Reverend Wright, Obama once again demonstrated his ability to see how a lot of our politics has its roots in economic issues.

So what must Obama think about us ? He thinks we're adult enough that he can say what he means. He thinks we're smart enough that we won't fall for the Clinton-McCain line that Obama is an elitist. Smart? Yes. Elitist? Bushwah. When Hillary Rodham Clinton calls someone "elitist" and arrogant, it's time to cue the laugh track. The elitist on the Democrat side is Hillary Clinton, playing big states only, saying small states don't count, and hoping to sway the superdelegates to overturn an Obama edge in the popular vote.

Even Indiana Senator Evan Bayh, a strong Clinton supporter, can recognize the truth of what Obama said and the spinniness of what his detractors are saying:

Bayh, speaking after Sen. Hillary Clinton’s town hall meeting in Indianapolis today, said he didn't agree with Clinton’s assertion that Obama’s comments were elitist, but said that doesn't mean the remarks won't hurt Obama.

"I don’t believe he is an elitist," Bayh said "His comments were open to interpretation, that’s the problem and the Republicans will use that ruthlessly against him, that’s the problem.

"I'm concerned that statements like this, even if they are taken out of context, can be used very effectively by the other side to keep us from getting the change that we need," Bayh said ["Evan Bayh Doesn't Think Obama Is an Elitist," ABC News: Political Radar blog, 2008.04.12]

Obama has followed up, saying he regrets if the wording offended some people, but "The underlying truth of what I said remains, which is simply that people who have seen their way of life upended because of economic distress are frustrated and rightfully so."

As Marc Ambinder points out, Obama's April 6 speech simply offered a riff on the "What's the Matter with Kansas" thesis that the big business interests in Washington are able to use "values" issues to keep our attention diverted away from the bread-and-butter economic issues that wealthy lobbyists don't want a truly populist Congress to touch. On that score, Obama is flat right.

The plutocrats and their fundagelical tools would love nothing more than for this and every election to be about nothing more than guns, gays, and religion. As a fanciful tangent, let's imagine what would happen if we gave the Radical Rich Right its fondest wishes and then some. Instead of an economic stimulus package, have the federal government send every American a handgun and an assault rifle. Deport every homosexual. Require everyone to go to church. We could do all that, and we'd still be in a recession. We'd still have a trade deficit. We'd still have stagnant wages. We'd still have corporate welfare. Another gun in my house and fewer gays down the street won't help pay the bills.

I suggest that Obama was not offering a critique of the common man. Far from it: he was offering a critique of the wealthy elites who have created our dysfunctional politics. He was saying the working-class family can't get a straight answer, let alone a decent policy, from the plutocracy to address their economic problems, so they're left looking for politicians who will at least say things that reflect one or two of their values positions.

Spin the words as hard as you want. But don't forget to look at the actions here: Obama is the first candidate to open a South Dakota office this year. He's the first presidential candidate to open a campaign office in Guam ever (Guam caucus May 3). Clinton spent much of her career doing corporate law. Obama turned down the big money and worked as a community organizer. Clinton brags about her knowledge of foreign countries based on her vast experience as a traveling First Lady; Obama points out that his understanding of other cultures comes from actually living overseas and knowing the people, not the leaders.

Obama an elitist? Right. Try again.

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Update 19:05: More reading at TPM Café, same idea: Obama speaks the truth!

See also this message from someone who was in the SF audience to hear Obama's words in person. Key point: the listener recognizes Obama's "emotional intelligence, deep empathy and understanding of our fellow Americans."