Who's The Fairest Of Them All? Not Me? Fine. I'll Vote For Someone Else.

Wow. We're still talking about it. Obama's 'bitter' remarks. While everyone is insisting that these remarks reveal an Obama that we don't really know, I think they reveal more about us, the American electorate.

The first thing I would say is that we're all really touchy about our collective self image. I remember the immediate 19 point dive in approval rating numbers for Jimmy Carter after his infamous 'malaise' speech. The fact that I refer to it as the 'malaise speech' lets us in on the touchy nature of the American public. In fact, that speech in 1979 was about the energy crisis. But it included a profile of the American citizenry that offended almost everyone. But if you read this speech , and I hope you will, you will see that it's really a call to arms. It's a call to unite as a nation to find common resolve to battle the energy crisis. There are also other extraordinary points in this address. As you read it, it could be a speech from today in terms of the threat to our country from the rapacious practices of OPEC.

But the distinguishing characteristics of Carter's address are its unflinching honesty and accuracy. Before he presented the solution to the problem, he needed to present the problem. And as he explained, part of the problem was us; specifically, it was our collective psychological condition. His observations about the American psyche came from interviews he conducted with a vast cross section of Americans. In response to concerns that America had lost faith in its government, Carter went on a ten day listening tour to find out what Americans really thought. He got an earful. And he reported back what he heard. The result? A 19 point drop in approval ratings.

I see an awful lot of parallels with Obama's comments. Like Carter's observations, Obama's are arguably true--because he is reporting what people have told him. His general characterization of small town reaction to economic stress is not inaccurate. His basic thesis that humans latch on to what they know in times of uncertainty is so obviously true, that it's equally obvious that something else motivates the type of negative reaction his comments have engendered. That something else might just be that we don't like others to take our inventory. Fair enough. Or it might just be that we don't like to hear anything negative about ourselves, even if it's true.

If that's the case, then don't roll your eyes in disgust when politicians pander to you. You've conditioned them to do that. Don't ask politicians to speak honestly if you can't handle the truth they expose. And above all, beware of politicians like Hillary Clinton who jump on a negative bandwagon and proceed to say someone else is elitist--even though for the past 20+ years she has known only governor's mansions and White Houses and has 109 million reasons that she is more elitist than Obama will ever be. At least John McCain had the good sense to simply label Obama's comments "elitist' without taking the persistent bait of reporters' questions practically begging him to say Obama was an elitist. That wouldn't have worked for a guy who left his first wife for a Budweiser distribution heiress and then spent 20+ years in Washington.

And then maybe ask this question of our conservative Republican friends who believe that these remarks show that Obama is 'out of touch' with mainstream America: where's your disgust for political correctness now? When it means being polite to minorities or gay people, it's "Oh come on, lighten up, everybody". But when it means being polite to small town Americans it's "What an outrage that someone would say something so awful!"

Is there a better way to say almost anything that's not completely complimentary of someone or some people? Of course. Is tact a good thing? I think so. Were these completely tactful comments? In hind sight, no. But do Barack Obama's comments belie a fundamental misunderstanding of a segment of the population? I don't think so. They do expose his misunderstanding of a fundamental political truth: don't say anything about people that isn't completely positive, because when it comes to our collective self image...we're touchy.

What's behind this huge reaction to Obama's comments? Talk about this or anything else by clicking 'comments' below, bypassing the Google sign-up and hitting the nickname or anonymous button.