I guess all those Pennsylvanians didn't buy the crap that a whole bunch of elitist talking hairdoes have been trying to shove down their throat.

Funny.

NEW OBAMA AD ATTACKS CLINTON ON LOBBYIST TIES!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jS2UkRSUoPo

What do you expect for a overblown statement driven by the news media to help Clinton.

weak bait.
weak story.
HRC failed.

CT Voter - I wouldn't be Bill Clinton for all the money on earth. He's real apt to get waken up some 2AM by a pillow on his face, with Hillary laying on top of it for all she's worth.

Bitter ain't in it - she's going to have many a sleepless night over a bottle of Wild Turkey asking herself: why did I do those shots in public? Why did I decide to tell people I'd shot a duck? WHAT THE HELL WAS HE THINKING TELLING PEOPLE I'M 60 YEARS OLD FORGETS THINGS?????

And it's about then that Bill needs to wake up and slip out the window as fast as he can.

This analysis or polls taken right as this brouhaha broke in PA presents a useful baseline, to wit that people are not spontaneously all that bothered by the reports of these garbled remarks of Obama's. But keep in mind: public opinion, as political scientists well understand, is not just a natural fact. It can be massaged and moved by "outrage" artifically ginned up in the media and by political ads like those HRC is running. Her campaign knows this and it is cynically trying to produce movement that would not otherwise occur. She will partially succeed in this, and TPM readers, as smart political analysts, should be prepared for that: polls will soon show increased "concern." Obama could well end up losing in the teens in PA because of this manufactured "outrage." HRC's campaign has done this because, before this broke, they were headed for a very narrow victory in PA that would not have allowed her to stay in the race until the convention.

Obvious thing for Obama to say in tomorrow's debate: "If I thought it was within bounds in a Democratic primary, I could easily create an ad showing the four times Senator Clinton starkly misrepresented her experience at Tuzla, and quote citizens expressing disgust at the lies about sniper fire and the slights on the performance of our military in providing full protection for the First Lady. I could produce citizens saying they cannot trust someone who lies or makes up fantasies like that. Should Senator Clinton get the nomination, make no doubt about it, ads like that will be ready to go from the Republicans and conservative groups -- and there are lots of TV clips to use!

But I am not going to take the contributions sent to me by many people of good will and use them this way in a Democratic Party primary. I will hit hard when I have to in the general election, but there have to be some bounds of decency and proportion, above all in an intra-family political discussion. Fellow Democratic candidates should not gin up fake controversies, or do the other party's work for it. People are tired of the "gotcha" politics of ginned up outrage and I am very sorry Senator Clinton has turned to it in this primary."

Theda Skocpol, Cambridge, MA

Hillary has pissed in my Cherios one time too many.

Leave, already.

I'm curious to see what the polls would've looked like had Clinton not jumpstarted herself into retardo-pander mode.

I once taught in a small town. Just north of the PA border. These people were poor! And very frustrated. Bitter would fit. And that was the 70's. As a teacher, I was the closest thing they had to a member of the "establishment" to whom they could complain. These people gave a lot of grief, I'm telling you! Yes, many hunted. But that was to supplement their meat! And yes they might have been upset had they known how I analyzed what was going on.... how I understood why they needed to complain to me, even though I was not responsible for their problems. But a politician needs to analyze, needs to tell the truth. For a long time the black community leaders have been saying the same kind of things, urging people to hope, understanding their bitterness. No reason to shoot the messenger though!

Hillary has just gotten unhinged here. She will pay for this dearly down the road.

I have this image of a Hillary "retreat" where folks are invited to bring their guns and shoot clay pigeons with the words of the 10 commandments stamped on them! Including the commandment to carry arms! (yes, snark!)

Theda - one of the things I love about Obama and his campaign is that he invariably says the right thing at the right time. Arguably, what caused this stupid flap belies that, but as with Wright, I think he can recover and gain ground just like you said.

God I hope he does. That's all it takes, IMO.

This is all very useful - Kerry kept ignoring the attacks which helped to destroy his credibility.

Obama answers things calmly as a rule and makes sense. At the moment, Hillary is right on the verge of being hysterical - which is an unforgivable sexist stereotype on my part, but since I'm a woman too, I find her hysteria unforgivable. She is not helping women with this performance. Dammit.

I hope Obama can lay this whole thing down. I think he can if he will.

Echoing Jon Stewart last night, I WANT someone as President who is head and shoulders better, smarter and more informed than the rest of us. If the comment section on most blogs is any indication, we are in desperate need of someone who's an elite!

My god, elite used to mean "good".

My god, elite used to mean "good".

Next thing ya know, they're going to be telling us that "intellectual" doesn't equate with Satan.

THIS IS EXCELLENT NEWS!! FOR HILLARY!!!

Has there been any poll that assesses whether the "cling to religion/guns" remarks have had an effect on Obama v. McCain?

Yes, we want someone who is head and shoulders better, smarter, more informed than the rest of us to be President. I don't think that is Obmama. He is someone who has not learned life's lessons yet and he wants us to sit around and watch while he and his crowd learn them at our expense. We ALL KNEW we had the answers when we were young. And Obama and his supporters will learn that they don't have all the answers just as we did.

They will also learn don't have any secret knowledge or magic power that is going to change the world. And if he wanted to learn this while our country is relatively stable while bringing some new ideas to the mix, I would be fine with that. But we are at war! We are in a recession! I for one do not want a presidency that will implode ala Jimmy Carter.

I have been talking to voters in PA and thank GOD!! most of them understand that. Obama can go find a good price on his arrugula and make sure his 12/13 year daughter has options if she "makes a mistake" and gets pregnant. He has no business running this country.

Maybe because the small towners are paying attention to the real problem. Obama in his speech yesterday to the AP:

John McCain is an American hero and a worthy opponent, but he's proven time and time again that he just doesn't understand this. It took him three tries in seven days just to figure out that the home foreclosure crisis was an actual problem. He's had a front row seat to the last eight years of disastrous policies that have widened the income gap and saddled our children with debt, and now he's promising four more years of the very same thing.

He's promising to make permanent the Bush tax breaks for the wealthiest few who didn't need them and didn't ask for them - tax breaks that are so irresponsible that John McCain himself once said they offended his conscience.

He's promising four more years of trade deals that don't have a single safeguard for American workers - that don't help American workers compete and win in a global economy.

He's promising four more years of an Administration that will push for the privatization of Social Security - a plan that would gamble away people's retirement on the stock market; a plan that was already rejected by Democrats and Republicans under George Bush.

He's promising four more years of policies that won't guarantee health insurance for working Americans; that won't bring down the rising cost of college tuition; that won't do a thing for the Americans who are living in those communities where the jobs have left and the factories have shut their doors.

I so wish the rest of the Democrats could stay on message like this.

A SurveyUSA poll finds that a majority of Pennsylvanians were not offended by the remarks, with Democrats not offended by a 62%-33% margin.

Interesting. A recent poll said that 26% of Hillary's supporters wouldn't vote for Obama if he got the nomination. Now we learn that 33% of Pennsylvanians were offended by Obama's comment. Could it be they were already offended by his candidacy?

Just sayin'...

(Everyone's ganging up on Obama because he said people were bitter because of the bad economy and were turning to guns and God. Memo to Obama: you should have said people are bitter because the damn Democratic Party, just like the Republican Party, is a friend to the rich and hostile to the poor and middle class.)

Sure I'm bitter...bitter about Clinton's millions, McCain's beer heiress trophy wife, Obama's boyish good looks and gift of gab.

Then there's the bitterness I have about the billions CEO's have accumulated and spend on crazy luxuries life Lear jets, and 400 million dollar yachts, and Bush's insane war which will cost 3-5 trillion and, yes, I'm bitter because I can just about afford my cat food diet and now I worry that Purina might be bought out by some hedge fund. But, please,don't mourn for me, organize.

Heck, I'm bitterness incarnate. But, I decided to move on. I started a group supporting Obama for president. It's called "Bitter People for Obama." Bitter as I am, I think he would be the best president ever.

But isn't Hillary's goal to make sure that if Barack does get the nomination that McCain wins? That way she gets another shot. I like reading about things like this at www.barackswhitelies.com. great blog.

B.O. is off the hook unless he makes it to the GE. God Forbid.

No, I don't believe the nomination was Hillary's by right. I'm from Iowa and I caucused for Biden. I think someone who has an inkling of what the job is about is who should get it.

When I say he has divided the party, I'm referring to some remarks he has made such as "It is time for this generation to step aside" and his attitude that he is the only one who has any judgement. That everyone who has been working and trying to make things better are of no value. They all should be sent off to the retirement home and let him run things. He has, on the whole, made this a generational fight. And I have talked to a lot of older people who say if they can't beat him in the primary, they will vote for McCain so they can beat him in the GE. THEY DO NOT WANT HIM AS THEIR PRESIDENT! And neither do I.