It was reported yesterday that on April 6, Sen. Barack Obama made the following remarks about the white working-class: “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.”
Catholic League president Bill Donohue wasn’t amused:
“Commentators are already saying that Obama’s remarks are an attack on small town America. But they are more than that.
“Just as words can be taken out of context, it is equally wrong to dismiss the context in which words are spoken. The forum Obama chose to make his remarks was a crowd of wealthy, left-leaning secularists in the most left-leaning, secular city in America—San Francisco. In other words, it was a safe venue for him to speak condescendingly about those so-called small-minded Christians.
“This is hardly the first time working-class Christians have been labeled parochial by elites who fancy themselves open minded. But for a serious candidate for the presidency to float this stereotype is despicable. Ironically, on the same day this story broke, Catholics learned that the Obama campaign had just announced the formation of the National Catholic Advisory Council. I have a suggestion for Obama: He can begin his outreach effort by apologizing to Christians for his insensitive remarks.”
