What ‘bitter-gate’ costs Obama
Polls suggest Barack Obama has lost momentum in Pennsylvania, said Daniel Nichanian in The Huffington Post, but it's impossible to say whether "bitter-gate" is to blame. Of course Obama's remark about "bitter" small-town Americans clin
What happened
Barack Obama has a 10-percentage-point lead over Hillary Clinton among Democrats asked who should be their party’s presidential nominee, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll. (The Washington Post, free registration) But Obama appears to have lost momentum in Pennsylvania, where he was chipping away at Clinton’s lead until around the time of his remarks about bitter small town voters clinging to guns and religion. A new Quinnipiac University survey showed Clinton with a 6-point lead—the same as a week earlier but down from 20 percent earlier—in the state, which holds its primary on Tuesday. (The Boston Globe, free registration)
What the commentators said
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Most polls show Obama is no longer gaining ground in Pennsylvania, said Daniel Nichanian in The Huffington Post, but it’s impossible to say whether “bitter-gate” is to blame. The Quinnipiac survey probably has the best reputation of several polls out there confirming the trend, but many of the interviews took place before Obama’s remarks were made public. But Clinton is trying to capitalize on all the coverage, nonetheless, by “adding hype to bitter-gate” with an event trumpeting the “collective endorsement” of 100 Pennsylvania mayors.
Establishment Democrats are split on whether Obama’s comments will matter, said Kirsten Powers in the New York Post (free registration). “But voters need more time to absorb the comments.” It may not be enough to derail his quest for the party’s nomination, but he certainly has given Republicans ammunition for November. “Obama may or may not be an elitist, but he inherits the legacy of a party that has fought the label since Adlai Stevenson.”
The truth is there is no significant difference between Obama and Clinton on guns and religion, said The New York Times in an editorial (free registration). But “there are many big problems to discuss and not enough discussion of them.” Iraq and Afghanistan, anyone? Or how about “the trashing of America’s global image, inequitable taxes, a flagging economy, epidemic home foreclosures, lost jobs, soaring health care costs and struggling schools”? Let’s hope the Democrats start talking about things that really matter at Wednesday’s debate in Pennsylvania.
You’re kidding yourself if you think these comments don’t matter, said Kathleen Parker in National Review Online. His remarks were deeply offensive to “too many generations of Americans who have enriched the sod of flyover country and elsewhere with their blood, sweat, and toil—precisely so that a Barack Obama might some day aim for the White House—to dismiss them so glibly.” The more Obama tries to brush away his careless “elitist” words, the more they burn into the psyche of “regular folk.”
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
Antony Gormley's Time Horizon – a 'judgmental army' of 100 cast-iron men
The Week Recommends Sculptures are 'everymen questioning the privilege of their surroundings' at the Norfolk stately home
By Adrienne Wyper, The Week UK Published
-
'King's horses take free rein through London'
Today's Newspapers A roundup of the headlines from the US front pages
By The Week Staff Published
-
Is pop music now too reliant on gossip?
Talking Point Taylor Swift's new album has prompted a flurry of speculation over who she is referring to in her songs
By Richard Windsor, The Week UK Published
-
Arizona court reinstates 1864 abortion ban
Speed Read The law makes all abortions illegal in the state except to save the mother's life
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump, billions richer, is selling Bibles
Speed Read The former president is hawking a $60 "God Bless the USA Bible"
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The debate about Biden's age and mental fitness
In Depth Some critics argue Biden is too old to run again. Does the argument have merit?
By Grayson Quay Published
-
How would a second Trump presidency affect Britain?
Today's Big Question Re-election of Republican frontrunner could threaten UK security, warns former head of secret service
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Rwanda plan is less a deterrent and more a bluff'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By The Week UK Published
-
Henry Kissinger dies aged 100: a complicated legacy?
Talking Point Top US diplomat and Nobel Peace Prize winner remembered as both foreign policy genius and war criminal
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Last updated
-
Trump’s rhetoric: a shift to 'straight-up Nazi talk'
Why everyone's talking about Would-be president's sinister language is backed by an incendiary policy agenda, say commentators
By The Week UK Published
-
More covfefe: is the world ready for a second Donald Trump presidency?
Today's Big Question Republican's re-election would be a 'nightmare' scenario for Europe, Ukraine and the West
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published