In her speech before the Republican National Convention, Sarah Palin delivered a zinger to the Obama forces. She said, "I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a ‘community organizer,’ except that you have actual responsibilities."
That night, Obama campaign manager David Plouffe came to the defense of his boss. He said, quite accurately, that community organizing is the foundation of the civil rights movement, the women’s suffrage movement, and labor rights.
But the defense also identified Obama with civil disobedience and rebellion associated with the American protest movement. This defense was perfect in the 1960s. Today it doesn’t fly with voters in many parts of America such as central Pennsylvania and upper Michigan.
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