'Bittergate' Flares Up on Sunday Shows

"Bittergate" erupted on talk shows today as pundits hammered Barack Obama for calling some rural voters "bitter," the Swamp blog reports. “He’s going to have to do some more explaining about this,” Clinton ally James Carville said. "It's big," said George Will. One GOP strategist called it "a general election nightmare" for Obama and the Democrats.

Consultant Bob Shrum said Obama's remark will be key in the Democratic debate Wednesday in Philadelphia. How Obama handles it "will establish whether he can create resonance with these folks." Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey defended Obama, saying, "I don't think (voters are) going to judge him by one statement." (More Barack Obama stories.)