Here's Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey, a pretty key guy in this passage of the campaign, trying to defend Obama on CNN over his "bitter" Pennsylvania remark. Rendell and Evan Bayh, Hillary supporters, have been pressing the opposite line, and are referenced in the clip.
Isn't it amazing how many prosperous and powerful politicians spending most of their lives in Washington, Harrisburg and Philly (or Chappaqua or Chicago) suddenly declare themselves experts on small-town America when they see opportunity in it? It would be nice if everyone could wait and let small-town American react, instead of putting forth such effort to to shape the reaction.
This clip is supplied by the Obama campaign, which has been working damage control very hard -- they've also let us now that the Allentown Morning Call and the Scranton Times Tribune have endorsed Obama. Transcript is after the jump:
Transcript:
U.S. SENATOR BOB CASEY: …He expressed regret and we understand. I think he understands why some people could be offended by those words. But here's the larger point. He was trying to express the frustration that people feel, not only with this economy, but what's been happening in Washington, where special interests have had a stranglehold on the process in Washington. He was trying to express that. But I have to say, Wolf, I know Barack Obama and I know Pennsylvania, and I’ve been blessed with the votes of people all across our state, including a lot of smaller communities in Pennsylvania. And I don't think they're going to judge him by one statement. I think they're going to judge him by his record, by his commitment to change. But, also, I think they're going to judge him by the person they met along the campaign trail. I traveled with him across Pennsylvania and a lot of small towns. We were in places like Altoona and Johnstown which have had great economic difficulty over many, many years. They met him, they shook his hand, they know the kind of time he spent with them. So, I think that when people spend time with him, they know his values, they know his heart, and I think he's going to do just fine.
WOLF BLITZER: So, what did he mean when he said they become bitter and then he said they cling to guns or religion? What did he mean by that?
CASEY: Wolf, I think he's trying to express frustrations that people have. And there’s no question that people shouldn't generalize about how people think about these issues. I think he was just trying to express it, he used a poor choice of words, he’s taken responsibility for it and he said he deeply regretted the words that he chose. But I think we shouldn't lose sight of what's happening here. You have politicians across America on the other side and in the Republican camp jumping on him. A lot of them don't know much about Pennsylvania like I do and a lot of them don't know very much about Barack Obama. His whole life story is the story of America -- overcoming tremendous obstacles, growing up in very modest circumstances, getting scholarships and achieving and winning. He didn't have someone go ahead of him and pave the way for him, he had to overcome a lot and I think people in Pennsylvania understand that, I think they understand the point he was trying to make, and I think that in the end, they're going to vote for one or the other candidate based upon who they are, their record and I have great confidence that as we go forward, Barack Obama’s values, his heart, his commitment to his faith and his commitment to change is going to be a significant factor in him being the nominee.
BLITZER: Here's what the McCain campaign said immediately after hearing on Friday of these comments. Steve Schmidt, a McCain senior adviser, saying, it shows an elitism and condescension towards hard-working Americans that is nothing short of breathtaking. It is hard to imagine someone running for president who is more out of touch with average Americans. And if you were watching your friend Senator Bayh from Indiana in the last hour, he expressed alarm that if Senator Obama were to get the Democratic nomination, the Republicans in the general election would hammer him away on this elitism issue going into November and it would be very tough for him to be rebound. You want to react to that?
CASEY: Barack Obama is a father and a husband, everyone knows his great story. He's someone who's a person of faith and he's someone who understands what it's like to struggle, and a lot of people in the McCain camp don't seem to understand that people realize now that the McCain campaign is about a third Bush term. I don't think people want to run up a debt number. That’s what President Bush's administration is leaving us. A $10 trillion debt, a war without end in Iraq and $50 billion of tax cuts for millionaires, multi-millionaires and billionaires. I don't think people are going to vote for that. I think they're going to vote for change and they’re going to vote for the candidate who just doesn't talk about change, someone who's willing to do the hard things to break the stranglehold that special interests have in Washington, sometimes on both parties. And there’s only one candidate, I think, who can do that, and I think people know that's Barack Obama.
BLITZER: Your governor, Ed Rendell, is another Clinton supporter. He spoke to our John King yesterday. He also expressed fear that if Obama were to get the nomination this could hurt him in November. He then went on and said this. I’ll play the clip.
ED RENDELL: It shows a real lack of knowledge of what's going on here. I worry about the senator's electability.
BLITZER: And he also said Senator Obama does not have a very good understanding of Pennsylvania or Pennsylvanians. Pretty strong words from Governor Rendell.
CASEY: Well, I don't agree. Look, Pennsylvania has a lot in common with the state of Illinois. Big states that had an industrial base, major rural areas and a lot of smaller communities. He understands Pennsylvania. I’ll tell you one thing, Wolf, I understand Pennsylvania and I know Barack Obama. There aren’t many people who can say that. And I know that with his message of change, his focus on bringing tax relief to seniors in Pennsylvania and across the country, his message of hope and of change, I think is going to be a very powerful message in a general election and I’ve won four general elections in Pennsylvania. I know how to win this state. Barack Obama is going to be the nominee, and he's going to win in November and part of that means he's going to win Pennsylvania. And I think people that saw him on that bus trip know this person, they know his heart and they know his values, they know his commitment to his faith and his family and I don't think there is any question. In the end, the more they get to know him, the more they're going to understand his heart and his values and I think he's going to win.
BLITZER: There’s going to be a faith/values forum tonight that CNN will televise at 8:00 p.m. eastern. Senator Clinton will answer questions, Senator Obama will answer questions. You know that they're going to ask, they're going to be asked about the words clinging to religion, clinging to religion. What do you think Senator Obama should say tonight to try to explain what he was thinking?
CASEY: I think that Senator Obama tonight and any night, whether he's talking about faith or whether he’s talking about our economy, is to deliver the message that he's delivered in this campaign. And I think it's great that Democrats are at an event tonight where we're talking about faith because, for many years at the national level, people who were running for national office wouldn't talk about it. I think it's a very important thing that we talk about. To express, as Barack Obama has expressed, not just his own faith and the faith of his family, but really, the way that he's shown respect for people that disagree would him, people of different faiths. One of the most important things that we can do when we're talking about faith, and I think he’s done this very well, is to listen to people talk about their own faith. And I think he's done that very well.