Obama defends calling US working class bitter
Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama has defended labelling struggling working-class voters "bitter," insisting they have every reason to be frustrated.
By PTI |
Washington: Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama has defended labelling struggling working-class voters "bitter," insisting they have every reason to be frustrated.
"I said something that everybody knows is true, which is that there are a whole bunch of folks in small towns in Pennsylvania, in towns right here in Indiana; who are bitter," he said.
"They are angry. They feel like they've been left behind," he said of those hit by tough economic times. "That's a natural, natural response."
Obama was slammed by his rival for the Democratic White House nomination, Senator Hillary Clinton, for comments he made at a fundraiser in California last week that white, working class voters, a key voting bloc in this year's presidential race, had turned away from Washington after years of economic decline and cast their votes on social issues instead of economic ones.
"So it's not surprising then that 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," Obama said, according to a transcript published by huffingtonpost.com.
Clinton jumped on his statement as condescending. "I was taken aback by the demeaning remarks Senator Obama made about people in small-town America," she said at a rally in Indiana yesterday.
"Senator Obama's remarks are elitist and are out of touch. They are not reflective of the values and beliefs of Americans. Certainly not the Americans that I know."
De facto Republican nominee John McCain's campaign also hit out at Obama's remarks.
"I said something that everybody knows is true, which is that there are a whole bunch of folks in small towns in Pennsylvania, in towns right here in Indiana; who are bitter," he said.
"They are angry. They feel like they've been left behind," he said of those hit by tough economic times. "That's a natural, natural response."
Obama was slammed by his rival for the Democratic White House nomination, Senator Hillary Clinton, for comments he made at a fundraiser in California last week that white, working class voters, a key voting bloc in this year's presidential race, had turned away from Washington after years of economic decline and cast their votes on social issues instead of economic ones.
"So it's not surprising then that 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," Obama said, according to a transcript published by huffingtonpost.com.
Clinton jumped on his statement as condescending. "I was taken aback by the demeaning remarks Senator Obama made about people in small-town America," she said at a rally in Indiana yesterday.
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"Senator Obama's remarks are elitist and are out of touch. They are not reflective of the values and beliefs of Americans. Certainly not the Americans that I know."
De facto Republican nominee John McCain's campaign also hit out at Obama's remarks.
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