Published: April 17, 2008 04:44 pm            

TRIBUNE-STAR EDITORAL: Be wary of ‘defining moments’

Barrage of criticism has own bitter tone

Hillary Clinton’s campaign organization and some of its supporters have been in a virtual frenzy this week trying to ravage Barack Obama as an elitist who is out of touch with Midwestern voters. The evidence, they say, is in remarks the Illinois senator made at a fundraiser earlier this month in San Francisco.

To wit: “You go into these small towns in Pennsylvania and, like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing’s replaced them. And they fell through the Clinton Administration, and the Bush Administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not. And it’s not surprising then they 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.”

Clinton and Co. saw an opening — a way, perhaps, to soil Obama’s image as a voice of common people. And so the assault began.

One notable Hoosier politician quickly enlisted in the verbal barrage is former Speaker of the House John Gregg of nearby Knox County. Gregg, a Clinton supporter, was among the first to be quoted in a Clinton campaign press release. He said he was “offended” by what he saw as Obama’s mischaracterization of small-town values and beliefs.

Gregg’s comments were released last Friday afternoon. On Tuesday, the Clinton campaign onslaught continued. This time, it came as an “open letter” sent to media from 10 Indiana mayors who “lent their names” to the cause. Three from the Wabash Valley were included — Brazil Mayor Ann Bradshaw, Linton Mayor Tommy Jones, and Jasonville Mayor Roy Terrell.

Most of the letter repeated verbiage expressing “disappointment” with Obama’s comments, claiming once again that they “demeaned the values” of small towns and are offensive and divisive.

For his part, Obama has defended the content of his comments, although he acknowledges his choice of words was not the best. It is instructive to note that Obama made similar remarks during his town hall presentation at Terre Haute North Vigo High School. Judging by the positive response from the audience, no offense was taken by the gathered throng. In fact, his words triggered a rousing ovation.

Perhaps those in the audience had something Gregg, Bradshaw, Jones and Terrell did not have: Context. In fact, one does not have to agree with everything Obama says or stands for to understand what he was saying. Nor does one need to know a lot about politics to see that Clinton and her campaign are trying to turn a shallow interpretation of his comments into a wedge issue.

The manipulative response from Clinton and her campaign is deeply troubling. And it is disappointing that accomplished politicians such as Gregg, or current public officials such as Bradshaw, Jones and Terrell, have allowed themselves to be sucked into the whirlwind of exploitation.

It strikes us that responses such as these represent the same divisiveness they claim to abhor. And if they are so offended by what they see as a character-revealing statement from Obama, where were they when their candidate was claiming repeatedly that she once landed in Bosnia under sniper fire? — a statement that was patently false. They apparently buy Clinton’s excuse that she inadvertently misspoke or was simply mistaken. Fair enough.

But now they want us to believe that Obama’s comments, largely taken out of context, should label him for all time as an elitist? As out of touch? As condescending?

Not fair.

Obama’s comments broached complex and emotional issues. Rather than succumb to hurling simplistic retorts, Gregg, the mayors and other Clinton supporters should take a deep breath and listen to the words of a fellow Democrat, state Sen. Earline Rogers. While she is an Obama supporter whose district covers economically depressed Gary, she offers a reasonable and measured assessment of Obama’s words.

“I’ve seen bitterness myself when it comes to people who feel that their government is not responsive to their needs,” Rogers is quoted by the Associated Press. “It may have been a clumsy choice of words, but I think if we’re honest then I think all of us would know that is the mood of the voter.”

Could this be a defining moment in the presidential campaign? It may well be. But Clinton supporters should be cautious that it could be their candidate being defined in a negative way, not her opponent.

        

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