Well, originally from a small town. Our town was surrounded by farming, but most of the people in town were employed in surrounding towns that supplied mining and refinery jobs. That is mostly gone now.

My wife was from a small town originally as well. It was a bit larger, and contained it's own industry, but again, most of that is gone now too.

I thought Obama was pretty succicient in his assessment of what goes on in a small town as it loses it's energy and becomse either a dwarf star or a black hole. I visit my hometown fairly frequently and just came back from my wife's hometown this weekend and I never go to either of these towns and meet anyone that is not bitter. Everyone has some thing they cling to now that jobs are no longer what defines them and Barack hit the big ones (maybe it is just a midwest thing, but he left out bowling).

I have a hard time understanding how this simple truth telling would have a negative for Barack, and apparently the polls show the same thing. I remember how when Bill Clinton was campaigning in his first run he was confronted by a reporter who asked him the price of common groceries and was able to answer him while at the same time, his opponent was marveling at the fact that grocery checkouts use lasers, as if he had never been to a retail store in the last twenty years.

It is refreshing to hear the truth from time to time from a politician. I hope Barack keeps it up.

"Well, originally from a small town'

OK, keep moving, nothing to see here.

I'd had been more impressed with your comments had you actually said - "I currently live in a small town"

I was born in a trailer park in Alabama - I live in Seattle though and have for a long time.

In fact, your comment only exemplifies everything that is wrong with Obama's comments - and sadly you aren't even aware of it.

I'm glad there are still people who prefer to hear the truth instead of being pandered to.

Not sure what that meant....

I have no idea what you are talking about.

I consider myself a small town person, and since my brothers and sisters still live in small towns I still have a sense of belonging to that community.

Obama seemed to hit all the right notes and didn't really say anything that someone in a small town would find offensive. There are lots of reasons to feel bitter and the way that the government has abandoned small towns - especially but not exclusively in the last seven or so years - should give them good reason to be bitter.

They just shouldn't let that bitterness afffect how they vote.

WOW! Imagine a crime scene. A crowd gathers. The police say........Are you ready? "Nothing to see here , move along" Only occurs in about every other episode of LAW and ORDER. Perhaps you don't watch TV?

but I have no idea what you are talking about.

I lived in a small town all of my early life, and a good chunk of my adult life. I moved to a nearby city and spend a significant amount of time with my family and friends from that town. You can take the boy out of the country but you can't take the country out of the boy. That sort of thing.

I don't see anything in Obama's statement that would not coincide exactly with what is going on in my small town.

I did not think my statement was that hard to understand.