The Return of the Bitter Clingers
[K]eep in mind that there have been periods in American history where this kind of vitriol comes out. It happens often when you've got an economy that is making people more anxious, and people are feeling like there is a lot of change that needs to take place.
If he thinks the "vitriol" directed against him is excessive, perhaps he oughta check in with George W. Bush (who never discussed his critics with such a tone of patronizing superiority).
President Obama always wanders onto shaky ground when he tries to psychoanalyze the people who disagree with him -- remember his most famous pronouncement?
[I]t's not surprising then [small town American voters] 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."
What's remarkable is the breathtaking arrogance these assertions require. In Obama's world, his critics are always simply anxious, or bitter, or otherwise to be pitied. Oh, yes, and the subtext: They're stupid, too -- too stupid to realize how right he really is.