July 28, 2008
"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."
—Barack Obama, speaking at a private San Francisco fundraiser ahead of Pennsylvania's primary, inelegantly trying to explain why the working class feels as if their leaders in Washington, D.C. aren't working for them
The remark — uttered at a closed press, no camera fundraiser in one of the most left-wing cities in the nation and recorded by Huffington Post citizen journalist Mayhill Fowler — allowed both the Clinton camp and the GOP to paint their rival as an out of touch liberal elitist. Obama later said his remarks could have been phrased better, but stood by their basic premise. Late in the fall campaign, both McCain and his running mate Sarah Palin tried unsuccessfully to use the remark against Obama.