Bitter politics - no room for intelligence: from Sekhar

This week's brouhaha about Obama terming the white working class bitter makes clear once again that there is little room in US politics for thoughtful, intelligent analysis. What Obama said in San Francisco is quite close to what Thomas Frank said in "What Is Wrong with Kansas?" and what even Bill Clinton has said in the past - that poor whites often vote against their own self-interest. Obama went beyond Clinton did and said this was because neither political party did anything to help the poor. But neither the media nor, naturally, Obama's opposition want an intelligent conversation. Obama did defend himself for one day but has backed down since then to avoid getting stuck on a word. His speech in San Francisco and the defense in Indiana are both worth watching/reading. It is also interesting that Obama does not talk about a big reason poor whites may not vote for him - race. I begin with two interesting analyses of Clinton exploiting the issue by questioning Obama's Americanness, from the Jed Report, and by Jane Smiley.

Mayhill Fowler, who broke the "bitter" story, has audio and a partial transcript.

Obama responds in Indiana - video and transcript with link to video.

Obama said something similar four years back - video.