Obama Disses The Hicks And Rubes Of Pennsylvania

There is video and a transcript of Obama hatin' on the poor country folk of Pennsylvania (it's from the Huffington Post, so it must be true):

"You go into 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," Obama said. "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."

Perhaps this is Obama's odd pitch to make people cling to government instead. Does he really think that 'frustrations' are the only reasons people turn to religion, or choose to exercise their Second Amendment rights? Or that economic frustrations (and the inherent bigotry of the white man, perhaps?) are the only reasons to oppose immigration or trade?

This is probably just a tin-eared moment for a guy normally adept at avoiding such things. It does give a glimpse into his worldview, however.