Last updated on July 1st, 2012 at 05:47 am
Hillary Clinton is risking a backlash, by pushing Obama’s bitter comments too far. Today, while speaking in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Hillary Clinton once again took her new found love of guns to a greater extreme.
“I am well aware that at a fundraiser in San Francisco, he said some things that many people in Pennsylvania and beyond Pennsylvania have found offensive. He was explaining to a small group of his donors what people who live in small towns right here in Pennsylvania are like and why some of you aren’t voting for him. But instead of looking at himself, he blamed them,” she said. (By the way, this isn’t true. Until today, the Obama campaign has been a little naïve about the damage his did. They have never blamed the voters).
The liberal Charlton Heston went on to claim that Obama looks down on people who like guns. “He said that they cling to religion and guns and dislike people who are different from them. Well, I don’t believe that. I believe that people don’t cling to religion, they value their faith. You don’t cling to guns, you enjoy hunting or collecting or sport shooting. I don’t think he really gets it that people are looking for a president who stands up for you and not looks down on you.”
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I am happy to see Obama showing regret for his comments, because that is really all he has to do. If Clinton was smart, she would not say anything about this and let Obama dig his own grave in the state, but Hillary has often been anything but smart in this campaign.
John McCain was also in Pittsburgh today, and he played this much better than Clinton has. McCain refused to label Obama an elitist, but he said that his comments were elitist. The fact that he made this distinction illustrates to me that he is more politically savvy than Hillary Clinton.
One of Clinton’s biggest problems is that she has a little bit of George W. Bush in her. She tends to talk at and down to voters. Currently, she is treating the people of PA like they are stupid.
One of the saving graces for Obama here will be that the Clintons don’t understand when to pull back. They overdo things like Obama’s comments to the point where they descend into self parody. Hillary is no more of a gun lover than John Kerry was a duck hunter.
There is a debate between Clinton and Obama in Philadelphia on Wednesday night. All Obama has to do is speak from the heart and apologize for his remarks, and the damage will be minimized.
My best guess is that if Clinton keeps on this path to absurdity, this could backfire, and she could see her margin of victory decrease in the state next Tuesday.
Clinton’s Remarks:
http://www.hillaryclinton.com/news/release/view/?id=7090
