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Obama: No Surprise That Hard-Pressed Pennsylvanians Turn Bitter — When I began following the Obama Campaign through Pennsylvania, the place was new to me— as apparently it was to Senator Obama, since his Road to Change bus tour was heralded as the candidate's introduction to the Keystone State.
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IS OBAMA'S CAMPAIGN OVER? — It may be. I don't see how anyone known to have uttered these words can be elected President: … Barack Obama's arrogance has been evident for some time, and it's no shock, perhaps, to learn that that he shares this bigoted opinion, common among urban liberals, of people who live in “small towns.”

Obama's “Gaffe:” Some Perspective — We're dealing tonight with a classic Kinsleyian “gaffe,” where a candidate says what he means and then is forced to account for it. Let's separate, for the moment, the politics of Obama's words from the argument he is making.
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Obama on small-town PA: Clinging to religion, guns, xenophobia — Huffpo's Mayhill Fowler has more from Obama's remarks at a San Francisco fundraiser Sunday, and they include an attempt to explain the resentment in small-town Pennsylvania that won't be appreciated by some of the people whose votes Obama's seeking:
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McCain camp hammers Obama on small town comments — The McCain campaign, finding a gift in its lap, tees off on the eye-opening comments by Barack Obama from a fundraiser last week in San Francisco (of all places). — Asked to respond, McCain adviser Steve Schmidt called it a “remarkable statement and extremely revealing.”

Opponents Call Obama ‘Out of Touch’ — TERRE HAUTE, Ind. — As Senator Barack Obama sought to broaden his appeal to voters in southern Indiana on Friday, Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton and John McCain separately criticized him as being out of touch with the middle class …
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The Red-Blue Divide — These remarks by Obama in San Francisco are, to put it gently, not the most felicitously phrased: … You can see the point he is trying to make - it's the Thomas Frank argument - and you can argue about its merits, back and forth. I don't think it's meant pejoratively …

Transcript of Obama's Remarks at San Francisco Fundraiser Sunday — OBAMA: So, it depends on where you are, but I think it's fair to say that the places where we are going to have to do the most work are the places where people are most cynical about government.

Obama To Rural Pennsylvanians: Vote For Me, You Corncob-Smokin' …
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This is why rookies shouldn't run for President
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McCain, Clinton Bash Obama's “Small Town” Comments; Obama Campaign Responds

Iran Top Threat To Iraq, U.S. Says — Last week's violence in Basra and Baghdad has convinced the Bush administration that actions by Iran, and not al-Qaeda, are the primary threat inside Iraq, and has sparked a broad reassessment of policy in the region, according to senior U.S. officials.
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Iran Fighting Proxy War in Iraq, U.S. Envoy Says — WASHINGTON — Iran is engaging in a proxy war with the United States in Iraq, adopting tactics similar to those it has used to back fighters in Lebanon, the United States ambassador to Iraq said Friday. — The remarks by the ambassador …


German staging of Verdi's A Masked Ball on 9/11 with naked cast in Mickey Mouse masks — By Harry de Quetteville in Berlin — A German opera house is to unveil a provocative new production staged in the ruins of New York's World Trade Centre. — It features naked pensioners and Mickey Mouse masks …


Administration Set to Use New Spy Program in U.S. — Congressional Critics Want More Assurances of Legality — The Bush administration said yesterday that it plans to start using the nation's most advanced spy technology for domestic purposes soon, rebuffing challenges by House Democrats over the idea's legal authority.

Bush Approved Meetings on Interrogation Techniques — President's Comments to ABC News Prove Top-Level Involvement in Allowing Harsh Coercion — President Bush said Friday that he was aware his top national security advisers had discussed the details of harsh interrogation tactics to be used on detainees.
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Temple Poll shows Clinton continues to lead Obama in Pennsylvania — Poll also shows candidates' coalitions have different orientations toward voting — Senator Hillary Clinton leads Senator Barack Obama by 44 - 35 percent among Pennsylvanians likely to vote in the Democratic presidential primary on April 22.
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