Does any of this "bitter" America "clinging" to God, guns, and backwardness really change the dynamic of this race?

So many seem to assume that this unguarded observation will arrive as a revelation.

Is this really a surprise to anyone?

We have spent the last few months dissecting the Obama appeal, and over the last few weeks we finally stumbled upon the missing element that explains so much: Obama, the product of the nation's most elite institutions of higher education, perfectly represents the liberal intelligentsia.

Who are the Obama-maniacs?

African Americans, the millennials, and the ever-present, ever-confident, not-so-young anymore, upwardly entrenched professional class.

This newly discovered third component consisting of well-heeled Ivy-Leaguers and Ivy-pretenders loves Obama with every fiber of their collective being.

Why?

He speaks their language. Consider once again the notorious example in question:

"[Successive presidents have] said that somehow these communities [small towns] are gonna regenerate and they have not. So it'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."

Conservative pundits reacted in horror.

And, for the record, the Clintons, who desperately needed a turnover, are in the middle of this chaotic pile of humanity fighting for the football. They laid off the Wright comments last month, out-sourcing the dirty work to Hannity and Limbaugh, and those bumpkins made a mess of it. This time there is no room for error. The Clintons own this operation to expose the real Obama.

Will anybody care
about this window into Barack Obama's soul?

The reaction from Obama and so many of his fellow intellectuals?

What's the big deal? I am sorry if the truth hurts, but come on, folks, everybody knows this is right!

It is a telling response--but will anybody care?

No and Yes.

No. My sense is that the vast majority of Democrats agree with Obama for the most part.

In fact, my hunch is that the Clintons pretty much agree also--but, as the clock winds down, their need trumps their world view.

Again, this is not really a revelation for the heart of the Democratic Party.

So, what happens? This incident may or may not impact the Democratic nomination race. It likely helps Hillary some in Pennsylvania.

A Horse Race Aside: we are in the midst of a familiar pattern. Hillary holds a big lead in a big state. Obama chips away. Election day approaches with Obama surging and Hillary departure talk cresting. Then Hillary pulls away again on election day?

Is this the latest installment in that serial drama? Maybe. Of course, most "cardiac kids" eventually come up a little short in the end.

Either way, this bump in the road seems unlikely to derail the Obama juggernaut. As several pundits have asserted: no scenario in the Quaker State changes the overall math. Even I am finally coming around to the inevitability of Barack--but not completely; sometimes final straws are curious events. We will know soon.

However, even I admit now that Barack Obama is moving ever nearer to finally escaping the clutches of Hillary Clinton and emerging triumphant in this contest for nomination.

What then?

Will anybody care in the fall?

Yes--but probably not enough people.

There was so much talk today about this "revelation" rendering Obama unelectable in November. Again, I remain skeptical. Obama--if he were anybody but Obama--would be clearly unelectable in the Fall Election. In fact, Obama--if he were anybody but Obama--would be "un-nominatable" in the Democratic canvass. But Obama is Obama--and all previous rules go out the window in this race. As I have said before, Americans seem bound and determined to elect this man--and everything else (issues, experience, philosophy, etc.) is pretty much noise.

All of this gives a glimmer of hope to an old Republican warhorse--but we need to keep in mind, in the bigger picture (Bush fatigue, Iraq fatigue, and the economy) the Democratic candidate still holds all the high cards in the 2008 race.