Dear Ms. Clinton,
I've never quite thought of myself as an undereducated white man. But, given the way you and the talking heads on television use the term, I guess I fit the popular definition. I admit I never went to college and I am white. Thankfully the good priests and teachers at what used to be known as St. Thomas More High School in Philadelphia taught me to read, write and count. They did a darn good job. They also taught me how to think. In the past few days I've done a lot of thinking about you and your campaign for President. You would not like my thoughts.
At the ripe young age of 58, perhaps I don't quite fall within the grouping known as "older Americans." Perhaps I'd qualify as a "getting older" or "soon to be older" American. As such, you would most likely include me in what you refer to as your "broader base." That would be a mistake.
Given the word games of the past few weeks, you could also put me down as "bitter." But not at Senator Obama. You're the candidate I'm bitter about. A good example of what's made me bitter is your comemnts as recorded in a USA Today report. To be specific you said:
"I have a much broader base to build a winning coalition on," she said in an interview published Thursday. She cited an Associated Press article "that found how Sen. Obama's support among working, hard-working Americans, white Americans, is weakening again, and how whites in both states who had not completed college were supporting me."
I find those comments far more offensive than anything Senator Obama said at his fundraiser in San Francisco. The idea that "hard-working Americans's, are (in your mind) also "white Americans" is about as low as it goes in terms of playing the race card.
Senator, are you on a different planet? Do you really think you help your campaign (or the Democratic Party) by essentially saying "nominate me because i can deliver all those white folks who didn't get a higher education?"
Do you think all those non-white voters who, in many states, are a crucial part of our real "base" enjoy being taken for granted by you? Think about it. In essence what you've really said "all those other groups will be there in November, but only I can bring you the under-educated, low income white voters." Don't bet on it.
Further, are you certain all those so-called "elitists" you've disdained during the past few weeks would want to hang around us "under-educated folk" of all ethnic groups just to support you after listening to repeated cheap shots from you and your campaign's talking heads?
The only way I can describe what you're doing is to say "Hillary just doesn't get it." You are in a time warp. You apparently still believe that a candidate can throw out any old populist sounding rhetoric because us dummies (i.e. "lower income" or "under-educated" voters) will eat it up. Let me clue you in on a reality that perhaps Wolfson and Company haven't brought to your attention: It doesn't work any more. In fact, many of us were attracted to Obama because when it comes to this point he "gets it."
I don't like being thought of as some dumb white guy who's going to blindly vote for you because "you speak my language." You don't. You speak the language of yesterday's politics and yesterday's politicians and what hopefully will become yesterday's "class warfare" politics. The sooner you learn that the sooner you'll be able to repair the damage you've already done to yourself and the party's chances in November.
