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David, Right on with McNulty. None of the beltway candidates or pundits has a clue about the life and kitchen-table economics of everyman (below upper-econ. class), except, possibly, Lou Dobbs; maybe Cafferty. Matthews is particularly nasty in looking for 'gotcha' ways to spin events into expose and controversy. I will never, ever, forgive him for spinning the Wellstone public funeral into a political controversy. If they would roll down the tinted windows on their limos, and take a route through working-class neighborhoods, they would see all the roofing and construction now being done by non-English speaking Hispanics; take lunch at a Subway, for example, and be served by Spanglish-speaking clerks; visit a meat-packing plant or manufacturing plant and see who is working their now-all jobs done by working class locals just a couple of years ago-they might just get some idea why working-classers are pissed off about NAFTA and the SHAFTAs that are destroying hispanic rural economy and shoving cheap labor over the Rio Grande and through ports in containers for sub-union wages in the U.S. Obama is right, McNulties are bitter; but he's wrong about the cause of McNulty's objection to the SHAFTAs. The effect of the SHAFTAs on his, and his nation's, economy, is wht causes his resistance; it also makes him bitter. Obama doesn't seem to think enough of McNulty's rationality. What is most worrying about Obama and trade is that he thinks it is a good thing and proposes only to work for SHAFTA changes that will improve labor and environment IN MEXICO and the trade partner countries. Obama says nothing about scrapping the SHAFTAs and going to trade that benefits the working-class economy of this country. Hillary is equally silent on this. They are both beltway elitists on this. McCain is even worse. Barack's also wrong on why McNulties like their guns and religion. Elitist FDR got a populist education (some help from TR); maybe Obama can be educated, too. Talk about elitist--McCain recently bought a condo (yes, a 9th residence) in Phoenix--under conditions where the other residents of the development had to sign an agreement not to talk to him or his wife (see Ed Schultz for reference). Hillary's populist credentials are also suspect in that she refuses to consider raising the cap on FICA. None of the pundits ask her "why?" Nor do they push her or Obama on whether or not, given a Dem. House and Senate, they would push for single-payer. Nor do they ask how they plan to lower the cost of universal and adequate health care so that everyone can afford it-if not via single-payer. Positive populist points for Barack over Hillary are his proposal to raise the FICA cap and to attack the off-shore tax haven dodges of hedge-fund managers. I hope this includes the off-shore tax dodging of Corporations getting U.S. contracts, like Halliburton and KBR, and corporations that sell in the U.S. Check on this please. Thank You, RLP

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What a great read! You are so on the money. How dull and closed-minded so many have become; do they forget the "keeping up with the Jones's" mentality that got most of them into this mess, and didn't they love bush & cheney? Obama hit it on the nose, they hold onto the things they hold dearest rather than admit they made a mistake and not only elected these idiots into office but didn't have the follow through to impeach them. Crazy, they'll want to impeach a President for cheating on his wife, but the Bucheney's cheated on the entire country, no call for impeachment there...what's up w/that? I don't envy anyone the task of trying to right all the wrongs the Bucheney's have done. Some may never be "righted", Barak see's it, calls it the way he see's it and is hammered for speaking a truth that resonates with thinking people. Give the dullards their due, they'll probably elect another Bush clone before it's over and then protest too much, wonder why, and blame it all on the next President.

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You state the following: 'The Illinois senator said that when folks feel economically shafted, they get "bitter." Matthews-ism spun the truism into a scandal." TURISM???... Your liberal bent is showing!! Like the Obama loving media talking heads, you choose to focus on the ONLY word in his ill advised speech, ("bitter"), that can possibly be morphed into a defence of the indefencable, choosing to accept as a GIVEN, his not so subtle remarks that all but accused small town Americans of being gun toting, bible thumping, racist, zenophobic, isolationists!! THAT, my dear sir, is a PERFECT example of what you like to call a, "Matthew-ism". You apparently choose to live in the same liberal bubble as Mr. Obama, with as little respect, or understanding, of the average blue collar worker that he so aptly displayed in his demeaning remarks. Unfortunately for him, you can't UN-spill milk, and a TRUE picture of Obama is starting to emerge from the insulated cocoon the national media had so willingly provided for him.