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| Obama rues 'bitter' voter remark | Obama rues 'bitter' voter remark |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama has said remarks about "bitter" working-class people "clinging to guns or religion" were ill-chosen. | Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama has said remarks about "bitter" working-class people "clinging to guns or religion" were ill-chosen. |
| After a storm of criticism from his rivals, Hillary Clinton and Republican John McCain, Mr Obama said he "didn't say it as well as I should have". | |
| He made the contentious remarks at a fundraiser in San Francisco on Sunday. | He made the contentious remarks at a fundraiser in San Francisco on Sunday. |
| The Illinois senator is ahead of Mrs Clinton in terms of delegates won in the Democratic primaries so far. | The Illinois senator is ahead of Mrs Clinton in terms of delegates won in the Democratic primaries so far. |
| Mrs Clinton is hoping to reduce his lead when Pennsylvania holds its key primary election on 22 April. | |
| However, the majority of polls published last week suggested Mrs Clinton's lead in the state had narrowed to the low single digits. | |
| 'Condescending' | |
| Mr Obama was accused of taking a condescending view of small-town voters after he was filmed at the private fundraising gathering last weekend, during which he said he understood why residents of some hard-pressed communities grew angry. | Mr Obama was accused of taking a condescending view of small-town voters after he was filmed at the private fundraising gathering last weekend, during which he said he understood why residents of some hard-pressed communities grew angry. |
| "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," he said. | "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," he said. |
| The truth is that these traditions that are passed on from generation to generation, those are important - that's what sustains us Barack Obama | |
| "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," he added. | "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," he added. |
| Mrs Clinton suggested voters in Pennsylvania did not "need a president who looks down on them". | Mrs Clinton suggested voters in Pennsylvania did not "need a president who looks down on them". |
| At a rally in Indiana on Saturday, Mr Obama conceded his description had been clumsy and not conveyed its intended meaning. | |
| He said he believed many voters were indeed bitter about the economy and that he had meant to say that "when you're bitter you turn to what you can count on". | |
| "So people - they vote about guns, or they take comfort from their faith and their family and their community," he said, adding that it was not a bad thing. | |
| "The truth is that these traditions that are passed on from generation to generation, those are important. That's what sustains us." | |
| The latest count of pledged delegates to the party's national convention in August, according to the Associated Press, gives Mr Obama the support of 1,638 delegates and Mrs Clinton 1,502. | The latest count of pledged delegates to the party's national convention in August, according to the Associated Press, gives Mr Obama the support of 1,638 delegates and Mrs Clinton 1,502. |