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Reeve
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Pennsylvania
Posts: 79
Country: 
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The funny thing about the "bitter" controversy...
Some citizens agree that they are bitter - Midstate PA Local News, Weather, Sports & Entertainment - PennLive.com
Quote:
• Some citizens agree that they are bitter
In Pennsylvania's small towns, Sen. Barack Obama's remarks ring true for some.
EVERETT-- Who says Pennsylvanians aren't bitter, particularly when it comes to their politics?
"It's pretty bad when you have people deciding whether to put gas in their cars or feed their kids," Greg Edsall said between sips of beer, shooting darts and the occasional glance at the Pittsburgh Penguins game on the TV at the Phoenix Tavern in Johnstown.
In a series of interviews with The Patriot-News this week, voters in small Pennsylvania towns said Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama was dead on when he said that many folks like them are "bitter." But they hold out little hope that Obama, Democratic rival Hillary Rodham Clinton, or John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, will make their lives any better.
So while Tuesday's Pennsylvania primary has fueled a record state voter registration and excitement among many Democrats, angst fills the guts of many voters, particularly those hardworking, blue-collar types like Edsall, who works security at a hospital.
From a veterans' post in Blairsvillle, Westmoreland County, to a gun shop in Bedford and a drugstore in Everett, voters described their own anxiety and the challenges the candidates may face as they try and court the disenfranchised.
"These are scary times," said retiree Regis Getsy as he waited for a prescription at the Everett Rexall Pharmacy. "It's a mess right now. There's no jobs here, and everyone's taking a beating."
Larry McCaha, a pharmacist in Everett, said he isn't impressed with Obama or Clinton. "They're both saying a lot of words," McCaha said, "but are they really going to do what they say they will?"
He said he will likely vote for Obama because "I don't want a continuation of the Clintons in the White House."
More baffling to many voters was Obama's suggestion that they "cling" to guns and religion and are not open to outsiders and immigrants.
"I think he has no respect for us and thinks he's smarter than us," said Dave Sapolich, the owner of the Phoenix Tavern. He doesn't have much positive to say about the candidates.
"Folks up here do love their guns," said Maryann Conway, a lawyer and former Schuylkill County commissioner who supports Clinton.
"They love hunting; they're very religious, tend to be wary of strangers and tend to not open to change," she said. "But he got it wrong when he related it to bitterness."
"This is a culture," Conway said.
Former Gov. Tom Ridge, who is national co-chairman of McCain's campaign, called Obama's comments a "rookie mistake" that ignores Pennsylvania's history.
Religion and guns are part of the basic fabric of life for many of the state's residents, Ridge said. "Their guns and faith are an integral part of who they are," he said.
The full impact of Obama's remarks remains unclear.
Clinton maintained her lead over Obama, 50 percent to 44 percent, in a Quinnipiac University poll released Tuesday. The survey mirrored results from a week earlier.
"Sen. Hillary Clinton is fighting off Sen. Barack Obama's drive to make it a close race in the Pennsylvania Democratic primary," said Clay F. Richards, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. "She seems to have halted the erosion of whites and white women in particular from her campaign."
The April 9-13 survey of 2,103 likely Pennsylvania Democratic voters concluded only two of the days after news of Obama's remarks broke. Richards didn't think it was enough time to gauge if the controversy stopped Obama's momentum.
Clinton's campaign launched a new commercial with five Pennsylvanians troubled by his comments. Obama's campaign responded by blanketing the state with $3.3 million in commericals this week, a sum considered to be a record. Obama's campaign has launched a new ad that accuses Clinton of engaging in the "politics of division and distraction."
Edsall, 36, reluctantly intends to cast his vote for Clinton. "She's the lesser of two evils," he said, expressing frustration with politicians who have promised to bring good jobs to Johnstown.
Clair Barefoot, a Republican, said it's not surprising the people are bitter.
"Their jobs are being taken away and it's hard to make ends meet," said Barefoot, a 51-year-old part-time school aide from Fishertown near Bedford. She is unsure who she will support in the fall.
Eric Kowalewski, 37, who works at a Pepsi plant in Johnstown, said he is less than thrilled by the candidates. "My choices are to not vote or vote for Hillary. I haven't decided yet."
He said he wasn't bothered by Obama's characterization of some small-town voters. "It doesn't really concern me at all because I'm not a bitter person," Kowalewski said.
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