Clinton: I, but not Barack Obama, have the support of
working, hard-working Americans, White Americans
Some ... call you swing voters, I call you Americans
(Where "hard-working" means uneducated enough to have voted for Bush twice).
The common interpretation among pundits is that it is an unwise but innocent statement of fact. But it is neither factual nor innocent.
First, there is the transition from hard-working to Americans to whites, with the implication that being white and American and hard-working are all the same thing. It is a testament to the collective tolerance for Clinton's delusions that she is not barraged with charges of racism, but rather given heat for just another indelicate gaffe.
Second, there is the idea that Obama automatically wins the black vote because he is black. In fact, Clinton once had a significant lead among African Americans--in January of 2007, by 40 points. She and Bill Clinton had to work very hard to shed that advantage.
Finally, if Obama has a demographic problem is with older white women, not white voters per se.
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