You can dissect and parse Obama's comments down to the last "uh," and you can conclude that there really are people who have been embittered over the years, over jobs and the economy and all that other stuff, and maybe you even know people like that.

But...what you cannot inject into Obama's remarks, because it was not there, is a real understanding of these people's lives, of the towns they live in, and the traditions they maintain.  He talked about them as if they were "those" people, and even if he did not use that term, it's what people heard.

He was almost accusing them of failing to see what "really" matters because they were all hunkered down in their churches, clutching their guns.

I am starting to get the feeling that all those glorious rallies that produced waves of adulation and adoration have given Obama the idea that that is his entitlement, and that if you aren't willing to get swept up in the movement, if you ask hard questions, and want more than platitudes and stump speeches, well, there's a problem, and it's yours - it's your fault, because nothing ever seems to connote any failing on his part.  Ever.

The critical difference is empathy vs. sympathy, although even the latter is not quite what Obama projects on this.  It's more an academic analysis, putting people he doesn't understand under a microscope like bugs.  And they -- we -- know the difference.

it's one thing to hear the words repeated by someone or read them. Inserting the laughter in print or hearing the original audio really elevates it . . .

 But I sober right up when I think of a McCain presidency. In particular, what he might bring to foreign policy.  I actually think he is more socially liberal than he lets on.