Bitter.

This is not a story about Obama, and his choice of words. This is a story about a bunch of ‘Hilbots’ who just happen to be a very bitter bunch.

12 reasons ‘bitter’ is bad for Obama

A Clinton comeback was looking far-fetched. But operatives in both parties were buzzing about that possibility Saturday following the revelation that Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) told wealthy San Franciscans that small-town Pennsylvanians and Midwesterners “cling to guns or religion” because they are “bitter” about their economic status.

Here are a dozen (greatly condensed) reasons why:

1. It lets Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) off the mat at a time when even some of her top supporters had begun to despair about her prospects.

2. If you are going to say something that makes you sound like a clueless liberal, don-t say it in San Francisco.

3. Some people actually use guns to hunt.

4. Some people cling to religion not because they are bitter but because they believe it.

5. Some hard-working Americans find it insulting when rich elites explain away things dear to their hearts as desperation.

6. It provides a handy excuse for people who were looking for a reason not to vote for Obama but don-t want to think of themselves as bigoted.

7. It gives the Clinton campaign new arguments for trying to recruit superdelegates.

8. It helps Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) frame a potential race against Obama, even though both of them have found support among independents.

9. The comments play directly into an already-established narrative about his candidacy.

10. The timing is terrible. With the Pennsylvania primary nine days off, late-deciding voters are starting to tune in.

11. The story did not have its roots in right-wing or conservative circles.

12. It undermines Democratic congressional candidates who had thought that Obama would make a stronger top for the ticket than Clinton.

The bullshit-o-meter is way off the scale on this one. Anything to get Hillary back into the race.