The New Politics. Don't Piss On My Leg And Tell Me It Is Raining

Obama has done  it again.  He has committed a gaffe. That is, he told a simple truth. And assumed that there are some adults in his audience.

People of rural PA, like those of upstate NY,  are bitter. Factories have been closing. Jobs are disappearing. Young folks are moving away to find work. And it  didn't just happen to them. It was done to them. By the good folks who brought us NAFTA. By the fat cat lobbyists who took money from foreign Governments to lobby for Trade Deals with no protection for workings folks. It is not raining. You are pissing on them.

When people are struggling financially, they cling to the familiar: friends and family, religion and in rural areas, guns. So what. To pat  them on the head and tell them they are resilient and optimistic when they are mad as hell is patronizing. That is what is elitist. Especially if you just banked $800,000 that  your husband made from a foreign Government for lobbying for a Trade Pact that will further impoverish these folks.

Obama's  is trying out  a new kind of politics. It breaks the rules of  the political elite class in Washington.
It is no gaffe. Welcome to the new Politics.

No more `walking around money'.
No more pandering to little constituencies.
No more saying one thing in SF and another in PA.
No more speeches against Free Trade while you make money lobbying for it
No more $237000 a month  consultants to tell you what you believe
No more lying to make up experience you don't have
No more tears for the very people you are taking advantage of

That is why he is winning nationally. If he can win in Utah and Idaho, he understands how to talk to gun totting,  religious folks.  It is condescending   to interpret Obama's words for the people of PA.   They are grownups. They may not vote for him, but they will respect him for telling it as it is. And that is enough. You cannot get everyone's vote. Enough to say the truth and behave honorably.

McCain claims to the Straight Talk guy. He lost MI because he told the folks there that the auto industry jobs aren't coming back. True enough. But what is his alternative? It is not the factory worker who made money out of the Clinton boom and the Bush Tax Cuts that he now wants to continue. With no limit on CEO pay, and no restraint on former Presidents lobbying on behalf of foreign Governments, more of the jobs will get Free Traded away.

You can call me  elitist for quoting  from a poem.   The Walrus and the Carpenter by Lewis Carrol. The  Walrus and the Carpenter and talking to the Oysters, expressing sympathy for them even as they are eating them up. The Walrus is Sen. Clinton  and the Carpenter is Senator McCain and the oysters are the working folks of PA.

"O Oysters, come and walk with us!"
The Walrus did beseech.
"A pleasant walk, a pleasant talk,
Along the briny beach:
We cannot do with more than four,
To give a hand to each."
...
The eldest Oyster looked at him,
But never a word he said:
The eldest Oyster winked his eye,
And shook his heavy head--
Meaning to say he did not choose
To leave the oyster-bed.
But four young Oysters hurried up,
All eager for the treat:
Their coats were brushed, their faces washed,
Their shoes were clean and neat--
....

"The time has come," the Walrus said,
"To talk of many things:
Of shoes--and ships--and sealing-wax--
Of cabbages--and kings--
And why the sea is boiling hot--
And whether pigs have wings."
..
"I weep for you," the Walrus said:
"I deeply sympathize."
With sobs and tears he sorted out
Those of the largest size,
Holding his pocket-handkerchief
Before his streaming eyes.
"O Oysters," said the Carpenter,
"You've had a pleasant run!
Shall we be trotting home again?'
But answer came there none--
And this was scarcely odd, because
They'd eaten every one.

UPDATE: Just saw another diary with a similar theme.. And here .
And don't miss this video from SC about street money. Hat tip to Kate McKinnon.