This "Bittergate" stuff is soooo going to resonate.

[Liberal Veteran]

Why do you think Obama's message of change and especially hope as a theme to his campaign is so compelling?

It's because people are bitter! People are bitter on both sides really.

Anyone outside the 29% that worships Bush is probably feeling somewhat bitter if not very bitter.

Towns being decimated by NAFTA. Houses being foreclosed on. Real wages stagnant. Gas prices brutal. 4000 dead servicemen in a war that has been going on longer than WW2 with no end in sight. A health care crisis. People wondering if their children are going to continue the downward spiral of not doing better than their parents despite going to college and working full time. There is still a gaping hole where the WTC was. CEOs bankrupting companies and blaming it workers who put more productivity into their jobs and get less in return. School shootings. Same CEOs leaving ruined company Aging population feeling their best years and America's best years are behind them. Families stretched the point of breaking by long deployments. An economy on the brink of collapse. An aging infrastructure. Food prices soaring. A city drowning seen in every tv in the nation. Torture in our names. Government spying on us while demanding the right to be as secretive as they choose.

If you aren't a little bitter and resentful, you are either VERY lucky or a complete moron.

Bitterness is not despair. You don't give up hope and you don't give up literally either. Guess what? Most of the country thinks things suck pretty hard right now.

Some people do channel their bitterness the wrong way. It was tapping into that allowed the right wing to solidify it's hold on the country for awhile. People seeking empowerment don't always pick the best things to symbolize their search. Some people go for the militia type thing. Some go for solace at the church. Some do give up altogether. Some go for blaming a specific group of people and rationalizing why those people are responsible for all bad things (illegals, gays, blacks, jews, whatever).

But most of us don't go down that wrong path. Obama resonates with the people because he represents something that is positive; change that WE THE PEOPLE, who are pretty damned bitter and fed up and make up the majority of people right now, get to make which in turn gives us our sense of empowerment back and a chance at a better future.

It's bitterness at the way things have turned out for our country that is driving hundreds of thousands of people to register for the first time to have an opportunity to make a real impact on the direction we choose.

Bored and contented people don't pack auditoriums to see politicians who talk about change. Bored and contented people don't turn out in record numbers to vote in primaries and caucuses.

So you really think that using the word "bitter" is going to be Obama's downfall? Something is different about this election. The sleeping giant is restless and there is someone who really inspires people to pay attention and not believe the spin of the old order.

Bitter, angry, discontented, mad, frustrated....there are any number of words that can be applied to the national mood.

And where do most bitter people go? To a place that offers hope.

Think and chew on that.

[thoughtcrime1984]

1. Well put, I agree 100%! nt

[alarimer]

2. The real problem is that he is pro-free trade.

People have lost jobs because of NAFTA and he still supports free trade. That was the part of what he said that bothered me most. People are anti-free trade because it has cost them their jobs or, if it hasn't yet, it probably will soon. Obama is just another corporate tool if he things MORE free trade is the answer.

[KittyWampus]

3. well, Obama's campaign SUCKS for not having him release a slam that would get airplay

on this. It should have been killed yesterday.

It's absolutely inexcusable that Obama hasn't managed to call out Hillary simply by question why she doesn't know what Wedge Issues are.

In excusable that Hillary was allowed to change the topic and dominate this weekend.

[babylonsister]

4. No chewing necessary, and big fat rec'd! nt

[Triana]

5. Since this flap started - THIS bitter person has decided to vote for Obama...

..that's where at least one of them went. He at least offers a voice for my bitterness.

The others? They just plug their ears, turn their heads and attack Obama. That tells me all I need to know about who I ought to vote for.

[gateley]

18. Yes - it's almost healing to hear someone

acknowledge that they understand the bitterness.

[leftofcool]

24. Oh yes, anger and bitterness

are so healing and have such fabulous qualities

[gateley]

25. Kind of uncaring and unfeeling, aren't you?

These are very understandable human emotions. No one likes feeling these emotions, but they're a part of the ups and downs of life. Usually a result when someone feels threatened or hurt - feeling better or angry is the first step in a process to healing.

Haven't you ever felt bitter or angry?

[JeffR]

22. That's a fascinating comment.

I decided Obama was the only real choice among the two only after his speech on race. I was impressed before, but reserved admiration for Clinton on some issues. Prior to that I took the long, dusty road of dejection after Kucinich and then Edwards dropped out.

The contrast between the campaigns is striking. It's hard not to infer that the contrast between the candidates themselves is also striking. Thus far, it's done Obama's stature good, and hers ill.

[Triana]

36. His speech on race was very impressive and caused me to begin leaning towards him...

...but I was still undecided since Edwards bowed out. Then this stupid 'bitter' thing came along and just capped it for me - that and increasing disgust with the Clinton campaign.

[Catherina]

26. Did you just decide on him?

This one's for you Triana

[Triana]

34. I've been leaning towards Obama for the past several weeks....JeffR mentioned...

...his speech on race in response to the Pastor flap and I was very impressed with that too, but still somewhat undecided because I liked Hillary's healthcare plan better and hadn't seen the ugly desperation from her camp yet. Then, this 'bitter' flap came about and that was the straw that broke the fence-sitting camel's back so-to-speak.

Before that I was for Edwards but since he dropped out end of January, I was on the fence.

Events that have transpired since - both in the sense of being impressed with Obama and disgusted with the Clinton campaign - have fully turned my support to Obama.

Oh. And I'm STEALING that Barack Kitteh for my sig!!! :) He looks JUST like my own kitteh!

[DJ13]

6. Im mad as HELL, & Im not going to take this anymore!

From: "Network" (1976)

I don't have to tell you things are bad. Everybody knows things are bad. It's a depression. Everybody's out of work or scared of losing their job. The dollar buys a nickel's worth; banks are going bust; shopkeepers keep a gun under the counter; punks are running wild in the street, and there's nobody anywhere who seems to know what to do, and there's no end to it.

We know the air is unfit to breathe and our food is unfit to eat. And we sit watching our TVs while some local newscaster tells us that today we had fifteen homicides and sixty-three violent crimes, as if that's the way it's supposed to be!

We all know things are bad -- worse than bad -- they're crazy.

It's like everything everywhere is going crazy, so we don't go out any more. We sit in the house, and slowly the world we're living in is getting smaller, and all we say is, "Please, at least leave us alone in our living rooms. Let me have my toaster and my TV and my steel-belted radials, and I won't say anything. Just leave us alone."

Well, I'm not going to leave you alone.

I want you to get mad!

I don't want you to protest. I don't want you to riot. I don't want you to write to your Congressman, because I wouldn't know what to tell you to write. I don't know what to do about the depression and the inflation and the Russians and the crime in the street.

All I know is that first, you've got to get mad.

You've gotta say, "I'm a human being, goddammit! My life has value!"

So, I want you to get up now. I want all of you to get up out of your chairs. I want you to get up right now and go to the window, open it, and stick your head out and yell,

"I'm as mad as hell,

and I'm not going to take this anymore!!"


:mad:

:thumbsup:

[DemGa]

7. No, it's the rest of the comment -- as we all know

But this is the narrative being pushed from the Obama campaign -- redefine, divert.

"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."

[scheming daemons]

10. Nothing wrong with that quote.... it's the absolute truth.

I live in small town PA.... Obama spoke the truth.

[patrice]

12. Please state your disagreements with that statement.

I personally would have prefered a word different from "cling", but the rest of it fits my experience and I know a LOT of people.

[bhikkhu]

31. This clip really clears up what he was talking about

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x117879

Its all there worked out and explained, the whole conceptual package, in an interview with Charlie Rose, if anyone cares to know.

[TLM]

38. The rest of the comment????

How Orwellian you say "rest of the comment" then cut out everything but part of one line.

Here's the rest of the comment....

Full transcript:

OBAMA: So, it depends on where you are, but I think it's fair to say that the places where we are going to have to do the most work are the places where people feel most cynical about government. The people are mis-appre...I think they're misunderstanding why the demographics in our, in this contest have broken out as they are. Because everybody just ascribes it to 'white working-class don't wanna work -- don't wanna vote for the black guy.' That's...there were intimations of that in an article in the Sunday New York Times today - kind of implies that it's sort of a race thing.


Here's how it is: in a lot of these communities in big industrial states like Ohio and Pennsylvania, people have been beaten down so long, and they feel so betrayed by government, and when they hear a pitch that is premised on not being cynical about government, then a part of them just doesn't buy it. And when it's delivered by -- it's true that when it's delivered by a 46-year-old black man named Barack Obama (laugher), then that adds another layer of skepticism (laughter).

But -- so the questions you're most likely to get about me, 'Well, what is this guy going to do for me? What's the concrete thing?' What they wanna hear is -- so, we'll give you talking points about what we're proposing -- close tax loopholes, roll back, you know, the tax cuts for the top 1 percent. Obama's gonna give tax breaks to middle-class folks and we're gonna provide health care for every American. So we'll go down a series of talking points.

But the 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. 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.

Um, now these are in some communities, you know. I think what you'll find is, is that people of every background -- there are gonna be a mix of people, you can go in the toughest neighborhoods, you know working-class lunch-pail folks, you'll find Obama enthusiasts. And you can go into places where you think I'd be very strong and people will just be skeptical. The important thing is that you show up and you're doing what you're doing.

[patrice]

8. It's the excitement of talking about taboos such as Racism and Classism

that some people mistake for "cult behavior".

There are ALL sorts of things we have not been allowed to talk about publicly, while we pretend everything is "morning in America". People are relieved to at least start addressing our truths from MULTIPLE perspectives, not just the PC one.

[Bonobo]

9. BEST POST OF THIS WHOLE FUCKED UP DAY!

You fucking NAILED it.

[still_one]

11. All the MSM whores are jumping on board also. These are the same whores who don't talk about Iraq

because they are partially responsible for our involvement their BASED ON LIES AND DECIET

Whenever they have the opportunity to change the subject or distract from this issue they throw the first stone

We have THESE representative from the press telling us what we should think, and they haven't been right about ANYHING for years

They tell us there is no inflation, they tell us the economy is doing well, they tell us Iraq had WMDs, and was connected to 9/11, they tell us that unemployment is low.

For months they have been telling us the bottom has been hit in the housing market and the stock market, and that oil has reached a top at 35, no 40, no 60 no 75, no it will NEVER HIT 100

The are so much NOT in touch with what is happening and they cannot even report a story correctly

No wonder the ESTABLISHMENT is running scared

Obama was NEVER suppossed to make it, that wasn't the plan

[DJ13]

16. Good post!

:thumbsup:

[patrice]

17. Speaking of elitists. I am sick and tired of millionaires telling me what I think!!! nt

[silverweb]

13. Absolutely true.

:thumbsup:

[MojoMojoMojo]

14. Bush fucked up the country .Why does Obama have to blame everything on

NAFTA?
Bill Clinton signed it but it wasnt the cause of all our woes.
Bush mismanagement and disregard is the cause.

"22.1 million new jobs have been created since 1993, the most jobs ever created under a single Administration. The economy has added an average of 248,000 jobs per month, the highest under any President."
WhiteHouse.gov web site Jul 7, 2000

[Mooney]

21. Because he's running against the Clintons.

In an election, It's pretty standard operating procedure to talk shit about your opponent.

Is this your first election?

[Yael]

15. Well done!

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

19. Hillary sounds like she is criticizing those who ARE bitter!

Just like she criticised

his inspirational speeches,
the people who support Obama,
the "too small" states who voted for him,
the caucus states,

now its a veiled criticism of those who are bitter over the
shit she brought down upon us.

[gateley]

20. You put this beautifully - thank you. nt

[napoleon_in_rags]

23. Hey, stop turning this into a POLICY discussion!

We can't talk about what the candidates want to do with their policies for the working class! This is GD:P, we have to condemn him for his "gaffe" and focus on it as if gaffes *represent* policy, silly! ;)

[NewHampshireDem]

27. 81% of Americans think the country is on the wrong track

Sounds like there's gotta be at least a little bitterness there. :shrug:

[Tarheel_Dem]

28. Damn Straight LV!

:applause:

[Skip Intro]

29. Oh, I think it will resonate. Not the way you imagine, tho. nt

[Catherina]

30. K&R. Nothing to add to your excellent post! n/t

[Tatiana]

32. It is already resonating.

I think this is just the beginning. It's what Edwards was trying to do in his campaign. Funny that we are finally having this important discussion mostly by accident.

[futureliveshere]

33. Great post.. K&R

[krawhitham]

35. I know I'm fucking bitter

[TLM]

37. As people pay their taxes and pay 4 bucks a gallon for gas....

They get to see Hillary on TV telling them how everything is fine and they are optimistic.... and they should be offended that Obama says otherwise.

Yeah...great plan hillary.

[Liberal Veteran]

45. Hey, when you got 109 million, 4 dollar a gallon gas ain't so bad.

I'd be pretty damned optimistic too if I had that kind of cash.

[cooolandrew]

39. We should start saying more disappointed than bitter.

[cooolandrew]

40. We'll change bitter to sweet. It has a postive leaning to it I feel.

[Divine Discontent]

41. SOOOO BITTER!

I know I am. How could anyone NOT be???
see my bitter items at www.cafepress.com/warisprofitable

[Neshanic]

42. McCain for President commercial spot 3,895 "Bitter Obama"

[PM7nj]

43. rofl... wanna know what the anti Hillary ads will look like?!

It ain't pretty. Face it, the Republicans will smear anyone, Hillary is not immune from their shit.

[GeorgeGist]

44. Bitter people are generally rewarded with more reasons to be bitter.

Fortunately not everybody wants to be a moron.

[liberalla]

46. I'm bitter - with damn good reason.

It's a strange facet to glom onto and attempt to exploit. I don't see it being successful for Hillary.