Obama's remarks slammed by rivals

And deservedly so. His statements are dripping with such a degree of condescention and elitism it almost takes ones breath away.

Statement:"You go into some of these small towns in Pennsylvania, and like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing's replaced them. And they fell through the Clinton administration, and the Bush administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not. And 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."

Sens. John McCain and Hillary Rodham Clinton yesterday criticized Sen. Barack Obama as a condescending, out-of-touch elitist over remarks made Sunday and again last night in which the Illinois senator said small-town Americans are "bitter" and cling to guns and religion as symptoms of frustration.

"Pennsylvania doesn't need a president who looks down on them," Mrs. Clinton said at a Philadelphia rally yesterday. "They need a president who stands up for them, who fights for them, who works hard for your futures, your jobs, your families."