Political Grease Fire

Sen. Obama is on a losing streak. He made a comment at a private fundraiser in San Fran trying to explain his troubles winning over some working-class voters, saying they have become frustrated with economic conditions:

"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."

Not surprisingly, this set off a blast furnace of criticism from Clinton, The Huffington Post, Republican nominee-in-waiting John McCain and other GOP officials, and drew attention to another potential Obama weakness — the image some have that the Harvard-trained lawyer is 'somewhat' arrogant and aloof.

His campaign scrambled to defuse possible damage.

(scrambled is AP's language - I'd like to pretend I'm not THAT poor of a writer. - Ah, who are we kidding!?)

Obama said there has been a small "political flare-up because 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, in my hometown in Illinois, who are bitter," Obama said Saturday morning at a town hall-style meeting at Ball State University in Muncie, Ind. "They are angry. They feel like they have been left behind. They feel like nobody is paying attention to what they're going through."

That's not going to clear the smoke- this seems to be another mis-step in a series for the first term Senator this week, and leading up to the next important contest for the Democrats. As long as Mrs. Hillary is able to keep her mouth shut and not talk about guns... (oops... too late) ...she should be fine and be able to sneak a few more votes her way.

Clinton supporters have already handed out "I'm not bitter" stickers in North Carolina, and held a conference call of Pennsylvania mayors to denounce the Illinois senator. In Indiana, Clinton did the work herself, telling plant workers in Indianapolis that Obama's comments were "elitist and out of touch."

Fire