[Vilsack] I found his remarks undercutting his message of hope. He suggests that people are bitter. I think they are frustrated. I think they are anxious because 8 years of the Bush economy has not done what it needs to do. What they want is not a pat on the head from a presidential candidate; they want a pat on the back. They to be told that there is a plan which is a way to make things better, and leaders who are dedicated to making that happen.

• Does the Hillary Clinton campaign really think what voters want is "a pat on the back"?


• Does the Clinton campaign really think that the people of Pennsylvania are waiting for a politician to come in and "make things better"?

I think it’s one of the reasons why they have been gravitating in small communities in rural areas across this country to Hillary Clinton, in part, because of her understanding of those who live in small towns. Her summers in Scranton helped to form her belief and understanding of folks who work hard and play by the rules.

"As Hillary and her mother increasingly expressed mixed feelings about the prospect of another Lake Winona vacation, their objections were met with Hugh's promises of a shopping spree somewhere on the return trip.... After one summer holiday in Pennsylvania, Hugh drove to Fifth Avenue in New York and told [Clinton and her mother] they could buy whatever they wanted before the stores closed at five o'clock. Mother and daughter had only twenty-five minutes so they took off their shoes and ran."