Bill Clinton is making a barnstorming tour through WV. Stoking resentment in an effort to undermine Barack Obama as our presumptive nominee.
Jack Tapper notes:
He's using the kind of language Democrats typically use against Republicans -- as in, stuff you say when you don't want voters to vote for the other guy under any circumstance.
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/
2008/05/bill-clintons-m.html
Here are some extended quotes from the man himself:
"It is very interesting, from the very beginning of this race there has been a sharp divide in the vote -- the people who need a president, who need to turn the economy around, who need to restore the middle class, who need to give poor people a chance to work their way into the middle class, who need to give our children a better future, who need to restore our standing in the world and the war in Iraq, but do it in a way that rebuilds our military and stands up for America's security and standing around the world -- they have been for her from the get-go."
Let's put to rest the notion that the Clinton's haven't been stoking the class resentment that is reflected in exit polls. Clearly Bill & Hill have been trying to play up this idea among lower-income whites for sometime, and then brazenly use the very resentment they've created as a reason to doubt his electability.
We can only hope that once the nomination is wrapped up and Bill & Hillary start supporting our nominee (instead of trying desperately to undermine him), they'll be able to backpedal a bit and walk some of these people back with them. Jack Tapper has his doubts:
Ginning up the resentments and the class divide (and maybe other divisions). ... His message to these voters: Obama and the media are laughing at you and think you're stupid!!!
Obama has a clear problem with white working class voters. This kind of rhetoric exacerbates it. Clinton knows that -- he's trying to drive up turnout to maximize his wife's popular vote argument to superdelegates.