Current Events — HabitableZone

Current Events » in reply to Obama feels the pain of the Flyover People

Sure does
Robert — (archived)

It's fascinating to see how that quote reveals so much about the people who read it and make a fuss over it.

I read it as Obama saying that, like Bill Clinton, "Ah feel yer pain", but then going further and explaining that pain. I like to think that because I'm generally sympatico with Obama's worldview, my understanding of it is pretty close to what he meant. And I see it as an insightful observation about the angst of one large segment of the American people.

I think that the reason it's struck such a nerve on the Right is that Obama is describing the mindset and passions generally ascribed to people on the Right side of the political spectrum: guns, religion, xenophobia, resentment of "elites". That's a threat to the RightWing political establishment, because it has, for years now, been exploiting and exacerbating that discontent for its own political gain. Where the Right gains political power by inspiring and promoting dissatisfaction and angst and anger, a Liberal like Obama is sending the message that he wants to address the condition, rather than perpetuate it. Obama is threatening to peel away an important part of the Republican base with his message of hope.

So of course the RightWing HateMachine swings into action to twist Obama's words.

Hillary's machine has jumped on that bandwagon in part for simple political advantage, but also because Obama didn't spare Bill Clinton in his analysis. "they fell through the Clinton administration" was a shot at Hillary, too, and I'm sure she's not too happy to have her "first term" portrayed as the filling in a Bush sandwich.

Hoot, caper about, fling the feces...just another day in the life of political primates.

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