Just bitter words...

[RecycleMichael]

Obama's remarks gives Clinton an opening

By JIM KUHNHENN and CHARLES BABINGTON, Associated Press Writers

MISHAWAKA, Ind. - A political tempest over Barack Obama's comments about bitter voters in small towns has given rival Hillary Rodham Clinton a new opening to court working class Democrats 10 days before Pennsylvanians hold a primary that she must win to keep her presidential campaign alive.

Obama tried to quell the furor Saturday, explaining his remarks while also conceding he had chosen his words poorly. "If I worded things in a way that made people offended, I deeply regret that," Obama said in an interview with the Winston-Salem (N.C.) Journal.

But the Clinton campaign fueled the controversy in every place and every way it could, hoping charges that Obama is elitist and arrogant will resonate with the swing voters the candidates are vying for not only in Pennsylvania, but in upcoming primaries in Indiana and North Carolina as well. Political insiders differed on whether Obama's comments, which came to light Friday, would become a full-blown political disaster that could prompt party leaders to try to steer the nomination to Clinton even though Obama has more pledged delegates. Clinton supporters were eagerly hoping so.

They handed out "I'm not bitter" stickers in North Carolina, and held a conference call of Pennsylvania mayors to denounce the Illinois senator. In Indiana, Clinton did the work herself, telling plant workers in Indianapolis that Obama's comments were "elitist and out of touch." At issue are comments he made privately at a fundraiser in San Francisco last Sunday. He was trying to explain his troubles winning over some working-class voters, saying they have become frustrated with economic conditions:

"It's not surprising, then, they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations." The comments, posted Friday on The Huffington Post Web site, set off a blast of criticism from Clinton, Republican nominee-in-waiting John McCain and other GOP officials, and drew attention to a potential Obama weakness — the image some have that the Harvard-trained lawyer is arrogant and aloof.

His campaign scrambled to defuse possible damage. There has been a small "political flare-up because I said something that everybody knows is true, which is that there are a whole bunch of folks in small towns in Pennsylvania, in towns right here in Indiana, in my hometown in Illinois, who are bitter," Obama said Saturday morning at a town hall-style meeting at Ball State University in Muncie, Ind. "They are angry. They feel like they have been left behind. They feel like nobody is paying attention to what they're going through. "So I said, well you know, when you're bitter you turn to what you can count on. So people, they vote about guns, or they take comfort from their faith and their family and their community. And they get mad about illegal immigrants who are coming over to this country."

After acknowledging his previous remarks in California could have been better phrased, he added: "The truth is that these traditions that are passed on from generation to generation, those are important. That's what sustains us. But what is absolutely true is that people don't feel like they are being listened to."

Clinton attacked Obama's remarks much more harshly Saturday than she had the night before, calling them "demeaning." Her aides feel Obama has given them a big opening, pulling the spotlight away from troublesome stories such as former President Clinton's recent revisiting of his wife's misstatements about an airport landing in Bosnia 10 years ago. Obama is trying to focus attention narrowly on his remarks, arguing there's no question that some working-class families are anxious and bitter. The Clinton campaign is parsing every word, focusing on what Obama said about religion, guns, immigration and trade.

Clinton hit all those themes in lengthy comments to manufacturing workers in Indianapolis. "The people of faith I know don't 'cling' to religion because they're bitter. People embrace faith not because they are materially poor, but because they are spiritually rich," she said.

"I also disagree with Senator Obama's assertion that people in this country 'cling to guns' and have certain attitudes about immigration or trade simply out of frustration," Clinton added. "People don't need a president who looks down on them," she said. "They need a president who stands up for them."

McCain's campaign piled on Obama, releasing a statement that also accused him of elitism. One of Clinton's staunchest supporters, Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., acknowledged there was some truth in Obama's remarks. But he said Republicans would use them against him anyway.

At a campaign rally in Wilson, N.C., former state Democratic Party chairman and current Clinton adviser Tom Hendrickson said rural voters don't need "liberal elites" telling them what to believe. Bill Clinton was the featured speaker of the rally but avoided commenting on Obama's remarks. When asked about it afterward, he said simply, "I agree with what Hillary said."

[FOTD]

More much ado about nothing.....let's move forward. Let those he speaks loosley of vote for McCain....

Hillary will cave soon enough. It's the only avenue she has left.

[RecycleMichael]

I respectfully disagree. The subject is not about Hillary...

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0408/9561.html

12 reasons 'bitter' is bad for ObamaBy MIKE ALLEN | 4/12/08

The remarks play into the hands of Republicans eager to portray him as a snob out of touch with working Americans. A Clinton comeback was looking far-fetched. But operatives in both parties were buzzing about that possibility Saturday following the revelation that Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) told wealthy San Franciscans that small-town Pennsylvanians and Midwesterners "cling to guns or religion" because they are "bitter" about their economic status.

Obama at first dug in on that contention Friday after audio of the private fundraiser was posted by The Huffington Post. Altering course, on Saturday in Muncie, Ind., he conceded that he "didn't say it as well as I should have." And he told the Winston-Salem (N.C.) Journal that "obviously, if I worded things in a way that made people offended, I deeply regret that. ... The underlying truth of what I said remains, which is simply that people who have seen their way of life upended because of economic distress are frustrated and rightfully so."

Here is what he said April 6, referring to people living in areas hit by job losses: "t's not surprising, then, that they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations." The Obama campaign contends that coverage of the San Francisco remarks is overheated and distorted. One aide said that "any logical analysis" would make it obvious that the brouhaha will not "change the pledged delegate count" — the key to the Democratic presidential nomination.

In fact, this is a potential turning point for Obama's campaign — an episode that could be even more damaging than the attention to remarks by his minister, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, since this time the controversial words came out of his own mouth.

Here are a dozen reasons why:

1. It lets Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) off the mat at a time when even some of her top supporters had begun to despair about her prospects. Clinton hit back hard on the campaign trail Saturday. And her campaign held a conference call where former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, a Pittsburgh native, described Obama's remarks as "condescending and disappointing" and "undercutting his message of hope."

2. If you are going to say something that makes you sound like a clueless liberal, don't say it in San Francisco. Obama's views might have been received very differently if he had expressed them in public to Pennsylvania voters, saying he understood and could alleviate their frustrations.

3. Some people actually use guns to hunt — not to compensate for a salary that's less than a U.S. senator's.

4. Some people cling to religion not because they are bitter but because they believe it, and because faith in God gives them purpose and comfort.

5. Some hard-working Americans find it insulting when rich elites explain away things dear to their hearts as desperation. It would be like a white politician telling blacks they cling to charismatic churches to compensate for their plight. And it vindicates centrist Democrats who have been arguing for a decade that their party has allowed itself to look culturally out of touch with the American mainstream.

6. It provides a handy excuse for people who were looking for a reason not to vote for Obama but don't want to think of themselves as bigoted. It hurts Obama especially with the former Reagan Democrats, the culturally conservative, blue-collar workers who could be a promising voter group for him. It also antagonizes people who were concerned about his minister but might have given him the benefit of the doubt after his eloquent speech on race.

7. It gives the Clinton campaign new arguments for trying to recruit superdelegates, the Democratic elected officials and other insiders who get a vote on the nomination. A moderate politician from a swing district, for example, might not want to have to explain support for a candidate who is being hammered as a liberal. And Clinton's agents can claim that for all the talk of her being divisive, Obama has provided plenty of fodder to energize Republicans.

8. It helps Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) frame a potential race against Obama, even though both of them have found support among independents. Now Republicans have a simple, easily repeated line of attack to use against Obama as an out-of-touch snob, as they had with Sen. John F. Kerry after he blundered by commenting about military funding, "I actually did vote for the $87 billion before I voted against it."

9. The comments play directly into an already-established narrative about his candidacy. Clinton supporters have been arguing that Obama has limited appeal beyond upscale Democrats — the so-called latte liberals. You can't win red states if people there don't like you. "Elites need to understand that middle-class Americans view values and culture as more important than mere trickery," said Paul Begala, a Clinton backer. "Democrats have to respect their values and reflect their values, not condescend to them as if they were children who've been bamboozled."

10. The timing is terrible. With the Pennsylvania primary nine days off, late-deciding voters are starting to tune in. Obama and Clinton are scheduled to appear separately on CNN on Sunday for a forum on, of all topics, faith and values. And ABC News is staging a Clinton-Obama debate in Philadelphia on Wednesday. So Clinton has the maximum opportunity to keep a spotlight on the issue. Besides sex, little drives the news and opinion industry more than race, religion, culture and class. So as far as chances the chattering-class will perpetuate the issue, Obama has hit the jackpot.

11. The story did not have its roots in right-wing or conservative circles. It was published — and aggressively promoted — by The Huffington Post, a liberally oriented organization that was Obama's outlet of choice when he wanted to release a personal statement distancing himself from some comments by the Rev. Wright.

12. It undermines Democratic congressional candidates who had thought that Obama would make a stronger top for the ticket than Clinton. Already, Republican House candidates are challenging their Democratic opponents to renounce or embrace Obama's remarks. Ken Spain, press secretary for the National Republican Congressional Committee, said: "There is a myth being perpetuated by Democrats and even some in the media that an Obama candidacy would somehow be better for their chances down ballot. But we don't believe that is the case."

[USRufnex]

quote-- But the Clinton campaign fueled the controversy in every place and every way it could, hoping charges that Obama is elitist and arrogant will resonate with the swing voters the candidates are vying for not only in Pennsylvania, but in upcoming primaries in Indiana and North Carolina as well. Political insiders differed on whether Obama's comments, which came to light Friday, would become a full-blown political disaster that could prompt party leaders to try to steer the nomination to Clinton even though Obama has more pledged delegates. Clinton supporters were eagerly hoping so.

They handed out "I'm not bitter" stickers in North Carolina, and held a conference call of Pennsylvania mayors to denounce the Illinois senator. In Indiana, Clinton did the work herself, telling plant workers in Indianapolis that Obama's comments were "elitist and out of touch."


Yeah, you know wut?... Hillary NEVER worked as a community activist on the southside of Chicago... NEVER.  She grew up middle class Republican in lilly white suburban Park Ridge.

God forbid anyone put Obama's words in proper context... more gotcha politics from the DESPERATE Clinton campaign... the media get it wrong again, and refuse to put his words in the proper perspective of his entire speech.

Per usual, Hillary is being a total b*tch.  Yeah, she's "found her voice" alright.  What a friggin' hypocrit!

And per usual, RM, you will stop at nothing to try to post anything and everything you can possibly find to discredit Obama... OBAMA HAS NEVER BEEN A LIMO LIBERAL....... more gotcha politics dished out by media hacks to a country that desperately needs something more than manipulated soundbites and trangulation... could Obama have stated that one sentence (taken out of context) in a more "politically correct" manner?  Yep.

She wants to convince super-delegates that Barack Obama is unelectable...... by doing everything in her power to make him unelectable.

This faux-outrage by Hillary Clinton truly pisses me off... what gives when the multi-millionaire Clintons are trying to undermine someone who has WORKED IN THE SOUTHSIDE OF CHICAGO ON BEHALF OF THE WORKING POOR FOR YEARS???... while Hillary was at the Rose Law firm and on the board of WalMart.......

Compare this mis-statement to the huge issue of Bill Clinton being paid by the Columbian Government... that's right, if elected president, Hillary Clinton will literally be in bed with a lobbyist for a foreign country-- her husband... and then there's the remarkably bad judgment in hiring play-both-sides-against-the-middle Mark Penn... wish I could say I was surprised, but all this reminds me of my own Clinton fatigue back in the 90s when slick Willie hired Dick Morris...

Hillary Clinton will literally say anything to get elected... she has proven me correct and demonstrates on a regular basis why I would NEVER vote for her, no matter what she claims her views are.  I don't trust her.  Period.

I am taken aback by Hillary accusing Barack Obama of being an elitist.  What a PIG.

[cannon_fodder]

Strangely, no one has posted the context yet:

quote:Obama wrote
   You go into these small towns in Pennsylvania and, like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing's replaced them. And they fell through the Clinton administration, and the Bush administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not.

   And it's not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy toward people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.

He made what most people will concede as a valid point:  people are frustrated in small towns.  He then went on to list generalizations about small towns:  guns, religion, anti-trade, and anti-immigration.   The only real problem is you aren't suppose to do that.  

It looks like Clinton supporters and Republicans are on this like white on Rice, but I'm afraid it seems like all the more nothingness.  Like Bill's recent outburst on the camping trail, just an indiscretion and a glimpse of what they actually think.  This one may portray some actual feelings, but imho they are true (but you aren't supposed to say them).

Anyway, what exactly is the problem RM?  That small town people are bitter and fit into his generalizations or that he said it out loud?  I'd rather know what a candidate thinks so I can honestly evaluate them - if he said Oklahoma is a backwards place where people cling to religion and guns while viewing those that are different with fear and pressing an anti-trade anti-immigration agenda... I might vote for him just for the honesty factor there.  []

Oh, my favorite Clinton spin is the "elitist angle."

'That ivy league educated millionaire senator who has worked for large firms and lives in a mansion is an elitist!' - said the ivy league educated 100 millionaire senator who lives in mansionS and sat on the board at Wal-mart.  Pot...kettle.

So, do we want an ivy league millionaire elitist or a life-long government employee?  Yay for democracy!  []

[RecycleMichael]

Do you really think that religion, hunting and concern about immigration are emotional responses to economic strain?

That is what Obama is saying. The people in small towns in Pennsylvania cling to these things because they are poor and bitter about it.

To him to go to San Francisco, to a party of wealthy people, and say that Pennsylvanians only care about religion, guns and immigration issues because they are poor is incredibly insulting. What he is saying is that poor people don't have real values, just emotions.

Try as you guys might to attack Hillary on this, it won't stick. Take Hillary out of the equation.  

How can you possibly believe that his comments weren't elitist?

[USRufnex]

RM... "How can you possibly believe that his comments weren't elitist?"

Because of his MANY YEARS of public service as a community organizer on the southside of Chicago doing things none of the other presidential candidates have done for the working poor... actions speak louder than misinterpreted soundbites.... I hope his message gets out...

http://www.wral.com/golo/blogpost/2724715/

quote:TERRE HAUTE, Indiana (CNN) –- Barack Obama was forced Friday to defend comments he made at a recent fundraiser where he described some Pennsylvanians as bitter.

Obama came under fire from Hillary Clinton and John McCain for his remarks just weeks before the Pennsylvania primary.

"When I go around and I talk to people, there is frustration, and there is anger, and there is bitterness," Obama began. "I want to make a point here."

"[Pennsylvanians are] frustrated and for good reason, because for the last 25 years they've seen jobs shipped overseas, they've seen their economies collapse. They have lost their jobs, they've lost their pensions. They've lost their health care."

Obama then said that politicians from both sides of the aisle have promised answers but that "nothing ever happens."

"So...they don't vote on economic because they don't expect anybody's going to help them," Obama said, adding that they end up voting on issues that include gun rights, gay marriage, and faith.

He then directly hit Clinton and McCain, mocking their earlier attacks.

"Here's what's rich," Obama said. "Sen. Clinton says, 'Well I don't think people are bitter in Pennsylvania. I think Barack's being condescending.' John McCain says, 'Oh, how could he say that? How could he say people are bitter? He's obviously out of touch with people. '"

"Out of touch?" Obama said. "I mean, John McCain, it took him three tries to finally figure out that the home foreclosure crisis was a problem and to come up with a plan for it, and he's saying I'm out of touch?"

"Sen. Clinton voted for a credit card sponsored bankruptcy bill that made it harder for people to get out of debt after taking money from the financial services companies, and she says I'm out of touch?"

He concluded his argument by telling the audience that it is, in fact, the opposite.

"No. I'm in touch. I know exactly what's going on. I know what's going on in Pennsylvania, I know what's going on in Indiana, [and] I know what's going on in Illinois. People are fed up."

You CAN'T take Hillary Clinton out of the equation, because she's the one calling him "elitist"....... for crass political gain at the expense of the democratic party.

Barack Obama is the complete and total OPPOSITE of what I consider a limo liberal to be.... but if you were to look up limo liberal in the dictionary, I think you'll find a picture of....

[]

[RecycleMichael]

Your answer is to say his actions show he is not an elitist. I agree.

But his comments were wrong. Obama's defense is that he should have said them differently.  

This isn't about Hillary. Why is the defense of Obama always something along the lines of "but Hillary is worse..." I don't care that she is using this for political gain. I don't blame her. His campaign has done the exact same and I don't blame them.

How can you defend comments like this? How can a rich man, at a fundraising party of rich people, make comments so derogatory about poor people and you not be upset? How can he look down on the poor and not be seen as elitist?

If he truly believes that poor people cling to religion only because they are poor, then he is out of touch with most of America. No man so out of touch can be their President.

[TulsaFan-inTexas]

As much as I have supported Obama on several issues, I agree with you wholeheartedly.

quote:Originally posted by RecycleMichael

Do you really think that religion, hunting and concern about immigration are emotional responses to economic strain?

That is what Obama is saying. The people in small towns in Pennsylvania cling to these things because they are poor and bitter about it.

To him to go to San Francisco, to a party of wealthy people, and say that Pennsylvanians only care about religion, guns and immigration issues because they are poor is incredibly insulting. What he is saying is that poor people don't have real values, just emotions.

Try as you guys might to attack Hillary on this, it won't stick. Take Hillary out of the equation.  

How can you possibly believe that his comments weren't elitist?

[waterboy]

quote:Originally posted by RecycleMichael

Your answer is to say his actions show he is not an elitist. I agree.

But his comments were wrong. Obama's defense is that he should have said them differently.  

This isn't about Hillary. Why is the defense of Obama always something along the lines of "but Hillary is worse..." I don't care that she is using this for political gain. I don't blame her. His campaign has done the exact same and I don't blame them.

How can you defend comments like this? How can a rich man, at a fundraising party of rich people, make comments so derogatory about poor people and you not be upset? How can he look down on the poor and not be seen as elitist?

If he truly believes that poor people cling to religion only because they are poor, then he is out of touch with most of America. No man so out of touch can be their President.

BS. Are only the poor, small town folk capable of commenting on their motivations or emotions? Because, RM, you would be considered out of touch as well. The truth is easier to absorb by small town folk than it is by cosmopolitan sophisticates who have to have it "phrased correctly". Those who have travelled and worked in both arenas, like Obama, have the credibility to comment on the motivations of either. John Edwards was also capable and said the same things only in code that was more acceptable to liberal psyches. Small towns in Penn or Ok don't need truth sugared up for consumption.

[Ed W]

quote:Originally posted by RecycleMichael

Do you really think that religion, hunting and concern about immigration are emotional responses to economic strain?

...How can you possibly believe that his comments weren't elitist?

Pennsylvania is said to have Philadelphia on one end, Pittsburgh on the other, and Alabama in between.  I've lived in Pittsburgh and a small town in the rural part of the state.  

When the steel industry died off, it took a lot of small towns with it as people lost their homes and tax bases withered.  Steel production went overseas.  Is it any wonder those people who lost their homes and businesses resent foreigners?

When WalMart opened a super store in a neighboring town, our hardware store closed.  Our shoe store closed.  Worst of all, the grocery went out of business too.  Is it any wonder people resent big businesses?

We know that demagogues thrive in hard economic times.  It's easy to find someone to blame, whether it's the fascists in Germany blaming the Jews, or our home-grown xenophobes blaming Hispanics.  The point is that there are indeed a host of bitter people in our country. Obama had the brass to merely point out the truth.

We all want our politicians to simply speak the truth.  We're adults (allegedly) and we don't need sugar coating.  Yet when candidates spout positions that have been finely tuned in front of focus groups, we have no idea what their real ideas are on any given subject.  That is, we have no real idea of what they'll do once they're in office.  So when a candidate says what he really thinks, like it or not, it's a breath of fresh air in an over heated campaign.

[FOTD]

Obama defends 'bitter' remarks

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/politics/2008/04/11/obama.remarks.cnn  WATCH IT!
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/04/11/obama-defends-bitter-remarks/

"When I go around and I talk to people there is frustration and there is anger and there is bitterness. And what's worse is when people are expressing their anger then politicians try to say what are you angry about? This just happened -- I want to make a point here today.

"I was in San Francisco talking to a group at a fundraiser and somebody asked how're you going to get votes in Pennsylvania? What's going on there? We hear that it's hard for some working class people to get behind your campaign. I said, 'Well look, they're frustrated and for good reason. Because for the last 25 years they've seen jobs shipped overseas. They've seen their economies collapse. They have lost their jobs. They have lost their pensions. They have lost their healthcare.

"And for 25, 30 years Democrats and Republicans have come before them and said we're going to make your community better. We're going to make it right and nothing ever happens. And of course they're bitter. Of course they're frustrated. You would be too. In fact many of you are. Because the same thing has happened here in Indiana. The same thing happened across the border in Decatur. The same thing has happened all across the country. Nobody is looking out for you. Nobody is thinking about you. And so people end up -- they don't vote on economic issues because they don't expect anybody's going to help them. So people end up, you know, voting on issues like guns, and are they going to have the right to bear arms. They vote on issues like gay marriage. And they take refuge in their faith and their community and their families and things they can count on. But they don't believe they can count on Washington. So I made this statement -- so, here's what rich. Senator Clinton says 'No, I don't think that people are bitter in Pennsylvania. You know, I think Barack's being condescending.' John McCain says, 'Oh, how could he say that? How could he say people are bitter? You know, he's obviously out of touch with people.'

"Out of touch? Out of touch? I mean, John McCain -- it took him three tries to finally figure out that the home foreclosure crisis was a problem and to come up with a plan for it, and he's saying I'm out of touch? Senator Clinton voted for a credit card-sponsored bankruptcy bill that made it harder for people to get out of debt after taking money from the financial services companies, and she says I'm out of touch? No, I'm in touch. I know exactly what's going on. I know what's going on in Pennsylvania. I know what's going on in Indiana. I know what's going on in Illinois. People are fed-up. They're angry and they're frustrated and they're bitter. And they want to see a change in Washington and that's why I'm running for President of the United States of America."

http://www.salon.com/opinion/walsh/election_2008/2008/04/11/pavoters/index.html

"But I wish everyone who's angry about the flap over Obama's remarks, on both sides, would debate what he actually said. "

Do YOU have a lobbyist? Who is out of touch?

[USRufnex]

If Hillary Clinton were not in this race... would RM be making these arguments?

RM -- "What he is saying is that poor people don't have real values, just emotions."

I don't think so.

And it IS about the Clintons.  Funny how after his comments came to light after a closed-door fundraiser in which people were not supposed to be allowed to record........ then Hillary's campaign hands out "I'm not bitter" stickers in North Carolina?!?  

When Hillary Clinton's campaign tries to make political hay out of this, she unwittingly accuses herself and much of her own political party of being elitist... you know, I'm an Obama supporter and I am not now, nor have ever been a drinker of lattes or mocha lattes... []

Obama's politically incorrect statement of truth is not much different than some of the opinions expressed in the book, "What's the Matter With Kansas"???  A book that was very popular among democrats...

It's a book I don't really agree with, btw... but it definitely struck familiar chords with me as an Okie...  

[rwarn17588]

What Rufnex said.

I grew up in your classic Midwest Rust Belt town. I read what Obama said the other day.

I thought: "What's the big deal? What he said certainly is true."

And it's not inconsistent with what he's said in the past:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6oGF3cyHE7M

OK, OK, I get it now ... we want our politicians to tell the truth only *some* of the time. [xx(]

[we vs us]

quote:Originally posted by rwarn17588

What Rufnex said.

I grew up in your classic Midwest Rust Belt town. I read what Obama said the other day.

I thought: "What's the big deal? What he said certainly is true."

And it's not inconsistent with what he's said in the past:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6oGF3cyHE7M

OK, OK, I get it now ... we want our politicians to tell the truth only *some* of the time. [xx(]

Damn, you beat me to it, Rwarn.  I was literally about to hit "post new reply" with this same vid.

I understand how, on paper, some of his comments could be misinterpreted, but watching him struggle to explain himself genuinely on Charlie Rose there, he just seems like a guy who wants to speak the truth about people compassionately.