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Tom Wharton
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."
    - Presidential candidate Barack Obama
   
    Guessing how that comment by the Democratic presidential contender about how citizens in small town Pennsylvania were feeling would play in rural Utah's small gun shops was about as easy as ordering a Big Mac at McDonalds.
    It's not as though Obama or Hillary Clinton have a remote chance of getting Republican Utah's electoral votes.
    Much of that has to do with bitterness and distrust of not only Obama but the news media and federal government. In talking to gun shop employees from Beaver, Vernal, Ephraim, Glenwood and Tooele about Obama's comments, that anger and distrust became quickly evident.
    Clarence Pollard of Beaver Sports and Pawn summed up some of the frustration. He said most of his customers don't think Obama is qualified to run for dogcatcher. To them, gun issues are huge.
    "The second amendment to people who live in rural Utah is as important as breath and water," he said. "They believe in the right to have guns and their privacy. They are violently opposed to any type of regulation concerning their guns that would restrict them in any way
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or any form."
    Pollard feels bitterness toward the federal government because of the way it regulates and restricts public land use.
    Leo Hovinga, a retired Division of Wildlife Resources officer who operates a gun repair shop in Glenwood, said Obama's comments show a lack of knowledge.
    "Everything the media has to do with guns is bad," he said. "They don't ever bring up any of the good things like the amount of joy that families get from hunting and shooting. They have no idea how many rounds of ammunition are shot on a weekend."
    Wes Dahl of Westside Shooting Sports in Tooele is surprised he hasn't heard more about Obama's comment.
    "It's just your usual silly crap coming from politicians," he said. "I already knew how he felt about guns but it shows what he thought about religion, too. In Utah, those are big things, especially religion."
    A man who identified himself only as Preston at Advantage Pawn and Sports in Ephraim said most gun owners are scared of everyone in the current crop of politicians.
    A guy named Ben who works behind the gun counter at Basin Sports in Vernal said his customers find Obama more frightening than Hillary Clinton. Many people fear that gun rights are slowly eroding. He said most people in the Uinta Basin ignored Obama's comments and are more worried about the size of their tax bill.
    Who knows how well these gun shop owners and workers represent the views of rural Utah. As Obama no doubt learned, making generalizations and assumptions can get you into trouble.
    But, in talking with shop owners around Utah, it was impossible not to sense there is anger, frustration and yes, bitterness - toward the current crop of candidates.
    wharton@sltrib.com