I live in Pennsylvania, for better or worse. Barack Obama has seen a lot of my home state. He sees the same rural towns I see, the same dilapidated cities.. The Capitol city of Harrisburg is filled with run down buildings that haven't seen care for decades.. The city of brotherly love is filled with violence and sky rocketing crime.. The rural towns of Pennsylvania are filled with patriotic Americans that work hard, and have a little fear about the future.

Barack Obama gave us his interpretation about the Keystone state: "You go into some of 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. And they fell through the Clinton Administration, and the Bush Administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not. 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." (-More on the Huffington Post)

Barack Obama today said he didn't comment as well as he could have. Hillary Clinton has already latched on to his commentary as proof that Obama is out of touch.. Proof that he is snobby. An elitist. Proof he doesn't understand Pennsylvania.

Maybe he does.

While the rest of the country begins to descend into economic stress, many parts of Pennsylvania have said collectively: Welcome to the club. Politicians in big cities and in Harrisburg have long ignored true problems in the state.. The job market has evaporated in many towns. Roads are at their worst in several areas.. Entire counties depressed. Teenage drinking and deaths are high in the coal region.. The steel cities aren't made of steel.. While some parts of the state struggle to rebound, others remain locked in their self-made rut. You reap what you sow.

Barack Obama's particular about himself in Pennsylvania was especially poignant: "Here's how it is: in a lot of these communities in big industrial states like Ohio and Pennsylvania, people have been beaten down so long, and they feel so betrayed by government, and when they hear a pitch that is premised on not being cynical about government, then a part of them just doesn't buy it. And when it's delivered by -- it's true that when it's delivered by a 46-year-old black man named Barack Obama, then that adds another layer of skepticism." The San Francisco audience laughed.

But Barack Obama is right. I have been doing some independent research myself. There are a few people in a group that seem unlikely to ever vote for Barack Obama, let alone someone that is not white. It's just true. It's simply true. Ed Rendell, you were right. There is a small segment of America that won't soon shed its past of bigotry.

The town of Hazleton, PA, was in the news for the past few years because of its proposals for ordinances against illegal immigrants. Many in Northeastern and Central PA have become fed up. But some aren't sure with what.

America is going through an interesting period of time. The 20th Century was clearly the American century. But we, as a country, outsourced ourselves. We moved into the 21st Century not as the American version, but instead as the Dependent Century. We depend on China to give us materials.. many times they are recalled. We don't depend on independent farmers anymore, instead we rely on AgriBusiness that has profit before anyone else, including taste. We've charted a new course to a new place. And we will probably regret that voyage.

Pennsylvanians are not bad people. They are not angry and bitter only, but angry and bitter in part. Bitter about constant progress never meeting them. Angry about politicians that will promise a world that won't be delivered. The average Pennsylvanian governs his or her own life with morality .. not vitriol. Policians in the state though pad their future pockets and pave their roads with gold.

I recently read an article documenting people in Northeast PA and how they are reacting to Obama vs Hillary. A retired worker at a restaurant was quoted saying, "I'm not crazy about voting for a colored guy, but that's not why I don't support Obama. I'm not prejudiced. I just like Hillary."

Perhaps the quote shows that Obama is right. Barack Obama's candidacy has opened a lot of cans that were sealed for decades. They have forced debates in friendships and families. It has forced many people to take a long hard look in the mirror. And an Obama presidency may be the healthiest thing ever for Pennsylvanians. Perhaps he can be the agent of change they look for.. Or he could be like the other agents of change. Promise it all and forget about everyone.

AP Photo/Alex Brandon