A hearty amen to that. He has expressed this situation exactly as I see it.

We are at a critical time in our history where we need what Barack Obama brings to the table more than we need just about anything else. That isn't to say that the issues like terrorism, guns, gays, God, taxes, abortion, foreign relations, corporate power, diversity, jobs, healthcare, war and peace, and education don't matter or won't continue to demand hard work and debate. But we cannot begin to deal intelligently and wisely with those issues if we continue on as we have been with leadership that is disconnected from us and unable to listen or reason. It has taken me a good deal of thought to come to the conclusion that despite my political differences with Obama, I am supporting him because he offers the best hope for the future of this country.

In the New Yorker, another perspective on Obama's remarks about bitterness in small-town America, one that we would all be wise to read. A key passage:

"The real problem with what Obama said is that it’s basically untrue. In southwestern Pennsylvania, religion, hunting, and insularity predate the post-industrial era. They’ve become politically manipulable points in part because of economic decline, but to confuse wedge issues with traditional values is the mark of the high-minded reformer or the political junkie, or both. It’s the kind of mistake one could make only from a great distance, once those voters had become almost entirely abstract—and, again, no one wants to be an abstraction."

joel, but obama didn't say that the economic downturn caused PA folks to take up religion and guns, but rather that the result is that they cling to those things. which would suggest that he acknowledges their presence predates the economic downturn.

so, much as i heart the new yorker, and i do, i think they pegged this one incorrectly.

Let's see, where is The New Yorker located? Oh, that's right, in New York.

The Boss is an elite guy,an elite musician, and he knows an elite President when he sees him. Good for you, Boss! Born in the U.S.A.!!!! Yeah, yeah, yeah.. yeah..

Hillary- the non-elitist "Screw-'em" she says:

From Huffington Post:

During the past week, Sen. Hillary Clinton has presented herself as a working class populist, the politician in touch with small town sentiments, compared to the elitism of her opponent, Sen. Barack Obama.

But a telling anecdote from her husband's administration shows Hillary Clinton's attitudes about the "lunch-bucket Democrats" are not exactly pristine.

In January 1995, as the Clintons were licking their wounds from the 1994 congressional elections, a debate emerged at a retreat at Camp David. Should the administration make overtures to working class white southerners who had all but forsaken the Democratic Party? The then-first lady took a less than inclusive approach.

"Screw 'em," she told her husband. "You don't owe them a thing, Bill. They're doing nothing for you; you don't have to do anything for them."

"Top 10 Reasons Why Bruce Now Sucks" 1. Hasn't made a full good record since Born in the USA MORE THAN 20 EFFING YEARS AGO 2. Put E Street Band on hiatus and hired a lackluster replacement - FOR 10 YEARS 3. Wife in band - who is he, McCartney? 4. Too much acoustic shit 5. 41 Shots should have been called 41 Shots (Wasn't Enough) 6. Lucky Town/Human Touch - a third of an album of good songs spread over two albums 7. Now part of the Hollywood/Music/Entertainment liberal cabal 8. Actually thinks people care what he says or thinks 9. Takes self waaaaaaay too seriously 10. Became a total fuckwad - luckily Southside remains super-cool.