MISHAWAKA (Indiana), April 13: US democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has been thrown on the defensive over his remark about bitter xenophobic voters who “cling to guns or religion.”

It has given rival Hillary Rodham Clinton a new chance to court working class Democrats 10 days before Pennsylvanians hold a primary that she must win to keep her presidential campaign alive.

At issue are comments Obama made privately at a fundraiser in San Francisco a week ago. He was trying to explain his troubles winning over some working-class voters, saying they have become frustrated with economic conditions: “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.”

Obama tried to quell the furore Saturday, explaining his remarks while also conceding he had chosen his words poorly. “If I worded things in a way that made people offended, I deeply regret that,” Obama was quoted as saying in an interview with the Winston-Salem (North Carolina) Journal.

But the Clinton campaign fuelled the controversy everywhere it could, hoping charges that Obama is elitist and arrogant will resonate with the swing voters the candidates are vying for not only in Pennsylvania, but in upcoming primaries in Indiana and North Carolina as well.

Political insiders differed on whether Obama’s comments, which came to light on Friday, would become a full-blown political disaster that could prompt party leaders to try to steer the nomination to Clinton even though Obama has more pledged convention delegates.

Clinton supporters were eagerly hoping so. They handed out “I’m not bitter” stickers in North Carolina, and held a conference call of Pennsylvania mayors to denounce the Illinois senator. In Indiana, Clinton did the work herself, telling plant workers in Indianapolis that Obama’s comments were “elitist and out of touch.”

Obama sees himself at a disadvantage in the April 22 Pennsylvania primary and with an advantage in North Carolina. That means that Indiana, where polls show Clinton holding a single-digit lead, could play a pivotal role in resolving the epic Democratic nomination battle.

Clinton pounced on Obama’s remarks much more harshly Saturday, calling them “demeaning”. “The people of faith I know don’t ‘cling’ to religion because they’re bitter. People embrace faith not because they are materially poor, but because they are spiritually rich,” she said. “People don’t need a president who looks down on them,” she added.

John McCain’s campaign released a statement that also accused Obama of elitism. The former US Navy pilot and Vietnam prisoner of war has slowly moved up in poll matchups with each of the Democratic candidates, particularly Obama.