“So here’s what’s rich. Sen. Clinton says, 'Well I don’t think people are bitter in Pennsylvania. You know I think Barack’s being condescending.’ And John McCain says, 'Oh how can he say that? How can he say that people are bitter? You know he obviously is out of touch with the…’”
“Out of touch? Out of touch! I mean, John McCain, it took him three tries to finally figure out that the home foreclosure crisis was a problem and to come up with a plan for it, and he’s saying I’m out of touch?”
“Sen. Clinton voted for a credit card-sponsored bankruptcy bill that made it harder for people to get out of debt, after taking money from the financial services companies and she says I’m out of touch?
“No, I’m in touch. I know exactly what’s going on. I know what’s going on in Pennsylvania, I know what’s going on in Indiana. I know what’s going on in Illinois. (Standing ovation) People are fed up! They’re angry, and they’re frustrated and they’re bitter and they want to see a change in Washington, and that’s why I’m running for president of the United States of America!”
Now who knows whether this is all talk too. Maybe Obama is just one more political charlatan.
What is clear though is that this was a speech that we have not heard from a Democratic politician for decades, and it sure sounded good to hear it.
If Obama sticks to this rhetorical approach in the coming weeks, he will nail this nomination in spite of a concerted attack on him by the corporate media and by the combined forces of the Clintons and McCain.
And if he does win the nomination, and resists the siren calls of the Democratic Party leadership to “move to the middle,” and instead hones this populist message, he will go on to win the presidency.
That’s when the real challenge will come, for an aroused citizenry, in those rural communities and in the larger cities across that nation, to make a President Obama and a Democratic Congress deliver on these words.
For now, they’re pretty powerful words, and just hearing them coming from a Democratic Party frontrunner is an exciting change.
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DAVE LINDORFF is a Philadelphia-based journalist and columnist. He lived with his family in Spencer, NY from 1986-1992 and has had a home in Hancock, NY since 1984. His latest book is “The Case for Impeachment” (St. Martin’s Press, 2006 and now available in paperback). His work is available at www.thiscantbehappening.net
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