Legal Commentary

What Bill Clinton Said And What Obama Said

By Big Tent Democrat

By Big Tent Democrat

Speaking for me only

Nico Pitney notes a Bill Clinton 1991 statement:

"The reason (George H. W. Bush's tactic) works so well now is that you have all these economically insecure white people who are scared to death," Clinton was quoted saying by the Los Angeles Times in September 1991.

Pitney thinks (Pitney clarifies that he takes no position on whether the statements are equivalent; of course others have taken that position when linking to Pitney) that is equivalent to what Barack Obama said about small town voters being bitter and clinging to their guns and their religion. I do not. Obama said:

So it's not surprising then that they [rural voters] 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.

Bil Clinton was critiquing Republicans, not voters. Obama's statement was construed, and not unfairly, as critiquing voters. But more importantly, this line of defense for Barack Obama is incredibly foolish. Bob Casey got it right. Express regrets and move on. I hope other Obama supporters catch up soon. They are hurting Obama now.

Full post as published by TalkLeft on April 13, 2008 (boomark / email).