If I was one of President Obama’s political advisers I would have advised him against his war on coal, or at least to put it off until his second term. But (obviously) I’m not an Obama adviser. I guess they realized there was a distinct possibility that their war on coal could hurt his reelection chances, but were just hoping his celebrity status would carry him through. That’s what happens when leaders surround themselves with sycophants – they end up not knowing what’s going on right under their noses.

Yesterday a massive crowd turned out for a rally for coal in Grundy, Virginia, many of those in attendance have just recently lost their jobs. Mitt Romney’s son Matt was there, and so was Senate candidate George Allen’s wife.  What’s amazing is that  the number of people who showed up far outnumbered the number of people who live there.

…the sheriff’s department estimated the crowd as at least 5,500 — in a town whose population is only 1,100.

One early report from the Bluefield (W.Va.) Daily Telegraph said: “The traffic was backed up from Poplar Gap Park to U.S. 460 in Grundy, Va., and backed up to Haysi, Va., in the other direction.” (Read More)

Who knows, maybe Obama’s hoping that his “green jobs” strategy won’t produce any more bankruptcies or layoffs before the election, so those green workers will vote his way. I don’t think that will work. I think he miscalculated the backlash from coal workers, who all live in the swing states he so desperately needs to win reelection. Maybe he thought that expanding the welfare state would be enough to win these hard workers over, and just doesn’t understand the culture of work most of us live by.