Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Senator Chris Matthews (D-PA)?


Is Hardball host Chris Matthews considering taking a shot at running against Arlen Specter in 2010? New York Sun columnist Seth Gitell comments on the possibility of a Chris Matthews campaign.


A 'Hardball' Senator? Seth Gitell, New York Sun

Monday, April 28, 2008

Rendell's primary campaign work questioned


Ed Rendell's role as a "super staffer" for Hillary 's Pennsylvania campaign has raised questions of his use of state resources for political purposes, reports the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Stephen Miskin, press secretary for GOP House Minority Leader Sam Smith, said Rendell "became the chief fundraiser, the chief strategist, the chief scheduler, the chief political director, the chief surrogate." "It raises very strong ethical questions," said Miskin.



Rendell's spokesman, Chuck Ardo, responded to these claims. "The vast majority of the governor's campaign activity was either very early in the morning, in the evening or on weekends and did not interfere with his full time job," said Ardo. "He merely added hours to a routinely hectic schedule by getting less sleep."

Ardo said, "he flew to campaign events on commercial airlines and paid his own way, and he reimbursed the commonwealth for the use of his office phone to a far greater extent than the charges incurred." "No one got short-changed by this governor's work ethic, and no one needs to be concerned about the misuse of state resources."

On April 2 Time magazine suggested that Rendell requested a memo for the Clinton campaign from a top state staffer.

From Time: "Then comes a call to Sandi Vito, the state's acting secretary of labor. 'Could you do a quick, down-and-dirty memo for me on (the federal Trade Adjustment Assistance program) for Mrs. Clinton?' Rendell wants to know. 'On your own time,' he adds. Of course."


Thursday, April 24, 2008

Breaking: Hillary Raises $10 Million After PA Victory


From the AP:


"Hillary Rodham Clinton raised $10 million in the 24 hours after winning the Pennsylvania primary, aided by contributions from 80,000 new donors, her campaign said Thursday.

The $10 million came from a total of 100,000 donors, spokesman Mo Elleithee said.

Clinton, who was strapped for cash going into Tuesday's contest against Barack Obama, started making fundraising pleas as soon as the race was called. She told supporters during her nationally televised victory speech to go to her Web site to send money."

Residents in Schuylkill County Disapprove of Massive Cargo Airport


The Pottsville Republican reports that a majority of residents in North and East Union townships do not approve the proposed cargo airport in northern Schuykill County. The airport would also cover parts of Luzerne County south of Hazleton and parts of Carbon County.
A paper ballot poll on Tuesday showed that 162 people oppose the airport, while 59 support the proposed project.

Gladstone Partners is behind the economically and ecologically catastrophic project. Once constructed, the airport would be the size of JFK and Newark airports combined. This means that the seventh largest airport in the world would be located in Northeastern Pennsylvania.

How did Hillary pull it off?


Southwestern and Northeastern Pennsylvania guaranteed Hillary a victory on Tuesday. According to the Scranton Times-Tribune, she had 90,783 votes from the Northeast and 106,062 from suburban Pittsburgh. These votes accounted for 95% of her margin. Of the 67 counties in Pennsylvania, Obama only won Philadelphia, Chester, Montgomery, Dauphin, Lancaster, Centre, and Union counties.


Obama did not dominate in Philadelphia and its suburbs. He lost Bucks County by a 2-1 ratio and Montgomery County by a narrow margin. Overall, he won Philadelphia by 130,000 votes. G. Terry Madonna, a political professor at Franklin and Marshall, said Obama "underperformed in the areas of the state he needed to win."


In the Inquirer today, Thomas Fitzgerald writes that "Obama needed to offset Clinton's strength elsewhere by rolling up big margins in the city and carrying the suburbs - homes to large numbers of the African American, affluent and college-educted Democratic voters who coalesced behind Obama elsewhere."


Ed Rendell attributes Obama's win in Delaware County to its "inner-ring suburbs...(and) significant number of African Americans who voted for a great African-American candidate." Rendell said, "If you're a Democrat in Chester you're a liberal, [or] if anything else a Republican or independent. It has the most liberal of all Democrats."



Obama won in the Main Line communities of Lower Merion, Radnor and Tredyffrin, as well as in Rose Valley and Doylestown. But he lost in the Newtown townships (both the one in Delaware County and the one in Bucks County), and also in Upper and Lower Makefield.

Clinton, meantime, racked up solid majorities in many of the classic, post-World War II suburbs, including Bensalem, Bristol Township, Warminster and Warrington, Upper and Lower Southampton, and Springfield (Delaware County).

In his column today, David Rubin speculates why Obama could have lost Montgomery. Many voters expressed their concern over Obama's stance on Israel. One voter recalled a recent conversation with a woman to Rubin, saying "She was concerned Obama would not protect Israel. I don't know what he could do to assuage that concern, as he has said he would support Israel, is a friend of Israel. I guess it is not enough."
In the Lehigh Valley, meanwhile, Hillary took every city but Easton. Lehigh Valley Democrats gave her 61% of the vote. "2.2 million votes later, small shift for Clinton" The Morning Call.




Tuesday, April 22, 2008

LIVE BLOGGING

(6:21): EXIT POLL: Clinton 52 Obama 48
(6:22): MSNBC Exit Poll: Clinton 48 Obama 43
(7:12): From Drudge Report:
Women
Clinton 55%
Obama 44

Men
Clinton 47%
Obama 53

Whites
Clinton 60%
Obama 40

Blacks
Clinton 8%
Obama 92

(7:15): From ABC News
"Despite all the down-to-the-wire campaigning, preliminary exit poll results indicate that nearly eight in 10 Pennsylvania voters made up their minds at least a week ago, and six in 10 decided on their candidate more than a month ago -- a higher number of early deciders than the norm in Democratic primaries to date."

(7:51): From the Morning Call:

"Women and older voters came out in force Tuesday in Pennsylvania's presidential primary, encouraging signs for Hillary Rodham Clinton as she sought a win to sustain her campaign.

Both groups have tended to support Clinton in previous states, and she needed their support once again. Pennsylvania was a must-win state for Clinton as she tries to overcome rival Barack Obama's lead in the race.

Should she lose, it would be a fatal blow to her candidacy -- a defeat so unexpected that it would sap her arguments to remain in the race. It would be the dawn of a Democratic era minus the Clintons as the dominant force."

(9:20): HILLARY WINS PENNSYLVANIA
12% Reporting: Clinton 53 Obama 47

(9:32): The Politico provides a state map that reports primary results from each county.

(9:34): Surprise: Obama takes early lead in Allegheny County with 57% against Clinton's 43%.

(10:03): Clinton is now leading in Allegheny 56% to Obama's 44%.

(10:05): Chester and Montgomery Counties still not reporting. Delaware County: Clinton - 52% Obama - 48%; Philadelphia County: Clinton - 39% Obama - 61%; Bucks County: Clinton - 66% Obama - 33%






Monday, April 21, 2008

PA Voter Registration: Key Counties


PHILADELPHIA AREA

Bucks: 12,644 switched to Democrat; 19,713 new Democrats

Chester: 11,526 switched to Democrat; 17,934 new Democrats

Delaware: 13,969 switched to Democrat; 23,247 new Democrats

Montgomery: 18,648 switched to Democrat; 29,717 new Democrats

Philadelphia: 17,183 switched to Democrat; 52,798 new Democrats


PITTSBURGH:

Allegheny County: 13,439 switched to Democrat; 28,451 new Democrats


View entire Pennsylvania voter registration map at the Politico.

KEYSTONE PRIMARY: DECISION DAY


Wire Reports (12:21 AM):


"After more than 40 Democratic primaries and caucuses, Obama, the Illinois senator, leads Clinton by more than 800,000 votes. Even if the New York senator wins by more than 20 percentage points tomorrow -- a landslide few experts expect -- she would still have a hard time catching him.

Clinton needs 'blowout numbers,' says Peter Fenn, a Democratic consultant who isn't affiliated with either campaign. 'The wheels would have to come off the Obama bus, and the engine would have to blow.'"






STAY TUNED FOR LIVE BLOGGING AND UPDATES

Sunday, April 20, 2008

Philly Inquirer restates support for Obama




"The Democratic presidential primary Tuesday presents Pennsylvania voters with a choice that is more about style than substance.

On the issues, there's scant difference between Sens. Barack Obama of Illinois and Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York. The biggest difference comes down to their styles of leadership.

Obama wants to bring about change by inspiring people to accept his vision of social justice. Clinton bills herself as the more competent leader, who knows how to effect change incrementally, due largely to her extensive government experience.

The Inquirer Editorial Board endorsed Obama before New Jersey's primary Feb. 5. Since then, the race has focused less on the subtle distinctions in the candidates' policy proposals and more on personal attacks. Before Pennsylvanians head to the polls, it's time to restate our support for BARACK OBAMA.

The 46-year-old Obama offers the better chance of rising above the partisan rancor in Washington to achieve bipartisan goals. After eight years of George W. Bush's my-way-or-the-highway rule, Obama could become the uniter that Bush never was. His campaign has attracted people of all backgrounds and political persuasions.

Throughout his career as a community organizer and state legislator and senator, Obama has pursued justice for working-class people. The recent charge that he's an elitist doesn't wash, in light of his background and his life's work.
Opponents argue that Obama isn't ready to be president. Compared with Clinton and Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona, Obama has the least amount of Washington experience. But that is likely one reason he's winning over so many voters. People crave change.

And Obama has demonstrated the resilience to bounce back from challenges in this long campaign. His speech in Philadelphia on race relations quelled the immediate political furor over his former pastor's anti-white rhetoric.
But Obama's address did more than serve his own political needs. It called on blacks and whites to consider each other's legitimate motives, and to move beyond conflicting perspectives. Turning a tempest into an opportunity for national reflection and action is a sign of leadership.

Unfortunately, Obama followed up that memorable speech with a gaffe about "bitter" small-town Pennsylvanians clinging to religion and guns. He still hasn't explained adequately what he really meant. For someone whose eloquence usually seems effortless, it was an unforced blunder that may have cost him the chance to put away Clinton here and now.

Clinton, 60, like Obama, wants to end the war in Iraq as soon as possible. Her plan for universal health care would mandate coverage for everyone; his plan doesn't go quite that far. But the policy differences between them are few. For example, both aim to roll back the Bush tax cuts for top wage-earners.

A second Clinton presidency could be as polarizing as the first one. She hasn't displayed often enough an ability to connect with voters. And her infamous Bosnia-sniper story, while overblown, did highlight the public's mistrust of her truthfulness.

Republican voters - those who haven't switched parties this spring - will find three names on the presidential ballot. But the GOP race is effectively over. JOHN McCAIN, 71, who received our endorsement in January, is the presumptive nominee. Former Gov. Mike Huckabee of Arkansas abandoned his effort weeks ago, and Rep. Ron Paul of Texas is carrying on his obscure campaign for reasons known chiefly to him."
Last week, the Allentown Morning Call, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, and the Harrisburg Patriot-News endorsed Obama.

Friday, April 18, 2008

Pennsylvania primary won't sway superdelegates


USA Today reports that dozens of uncommitted superdelegates say Pennsylvania's primary will not be the decisive factor in choosing between Hillary and Barack. These superdelegates told the paper they will choose by July 1, a deadline proposed by DNC Chairman Howard Dean.

Yesterday, Dean told CNN's Wolf Blitzer that he needs an immediate decision from uncommitted superdelegates. “I need them to say who they’re for starting now," said the DNC Chairman. “We cannot give up two or three months of active campaigning and healing time," said Dean. "We’ve got to know who our nominee is.”

USA Today estimates that 250 of the 800 superdelegates remain undecided. Dean told Blitzer that approximately 65% of superdelegates have made their preference but 300 have not yet made up their minds.

According to the Politico, "If, as Hillary Rodham Clinton has suggested, her campaign takes the fight to seat the Florida and Michigan delegations all the way to the Democratic National Convention this summer, the fate of her challenge is all but certain to hinge on 25 individuals appointed to the Credentials Committee by party Chairman Howard Dean. "

The Credentials Committee consists of the 186 members who will determine whether to seat Florida and Michigan.

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Primary Schedule


Link to New York Times schedule for remaining primaries.

Latest Poll Numbers


Pennsylvania Poll Numbers:
Zogby
45 Clinton
44 Obama
Clinton +1.0

Rasmussen
50 Clinton
41 Obama
Clinton +9.0

SurveyUSA
54 Clinton
40 Obama
Clinton +14.0

LA Times/Bloomberg
46 Clinton
41 Obama
Clinton +5.0

Quinnipiac
50 Clinton
44 Obama
Clinton +6.0
42 Obama
Clinton +7.0

Keyes announces presidential bid in Hazleton


Alan Keyes announced his intentions to run for President in Hazleton. Keyes, a former Republican presidential candidate, is considering becoming the Constitution Party's candidate in the 2008 election. Keyes chose Hazleton, which is the epicenter of the immigration debate, because the country's "border issue" is a "threat to the sovereignty to the American people." Keyes cites the GOP's failure to address immigration as his reason for leaving the party.


Wecht Trial Update


From Paul Kiel at TPMMuckraker:



"In an open letter to Attorney General Michael Mukasey and U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan today, more than two dozen Pennsylvania public figures urged that the Justice Department "reconsider the publicly announced decision to re-try De. Cryil Wecht." You can see the letter here.

Among the signers are Melissa Hart, a former Republican congresswoman who lost reelection in 2006, Jerry Johnson, the U.S. Attorney for Pittsburgh during the Reagan administration, and both the former and current chair of the Republican Party in Allegheny County. The signers also include a number of members of the Allegheny county council and the Democratic former mayor of Pittsburgh, Tom Murphy. The Wecht case is based on allegations that Wecht misused county resources while serving as coroner there.

Given that the jury hung in the first trial and jurors have told the media that most of them had agreed on acquittal, the signers agree that a second trial "would certainly not be in the interest of justice."

It's just the latest bit of pressure put on prosecutors. Reps. John Conyers (D-MI) and Mike Doyle (D-PA) have already expressed their concern that prosecutors used FBI agents to contact jurors who served on the case. Former U.S. Attorney David Iglesias, a Republican, also criticized that decision. And that's on top of the scrutiny the case has had for months."

Reviews of last night's awful debate


The media is in uproar over ABC's debate between Hillary and Barack. Jason Linkins, of the Huffington Post, said "there were times when tonight's debate ventured into territory so utterly asinine that I could scarcely believe what I was witnessing." The Washington Post's Tom Shales said Charlie Gibson and George Stephanopoulos "turned in shoody, despicable performances."


For the first 52 minutes of the two-hour, commercial-crammed show, Gibson and Stephanopoulos dwelled entirely on specious and gossipy trivia that already has been hashed and rehashed, in the hope of getting the candidates to claw at one another over disputes that are no longer news. Some were barely news to begin with.
Stephanopoulos, a former Clinton aide, and Gibson were obviously biased against Obama. From Shales:

To this observer, ABC's coverage seemed slanted against Obama. The director cut several times to reaction shots of such Clinton supporters as her daughter, Chelsea, who sat in the audience at the Kimmel Theater in Philly's National Constitution Center. Obama supporters did not get equal screen time, giving the impression that there weren't any in the hall. The director also clumsily chose to pan the audience at the very start of the debate, when the candidates made their opening statements, so Obama and Clinton were barely seen before the first commercial break.

Ed Rendell's off the record comments after the debate are a tribute to the moderators' bias:
From Chris Bowers of Open Left:


I went to the spin room after the debate, looking for someone from ABC in order to ask them about the questions in the first half of the debate. Unfortunately, in the spin room, a vortex of discourse was eating its own tail as the signifier drowned the signified in a rusty bathtub in the corner, so I fled out of a deep sense of existential horror. As I was walking back to the filing center, I passed Governor Ed Rendell just as he was finishing an interview. Afterwards, appearing very happy, he said the following to someone standing next to him, revealing not only what he thought of the debate, but also of the early questions at the debate:

"Even an Obama Kool-Aid drinking guy like yourself has to admit she scored a decisive victory tonight. A decisive victory. A knockout blow. A decisive victory. A decisive victory. Even more decisive when they started asking real questions."

Calling it a "gotcha debate," Katrina vanden Heuvel, editor of The Nation, said the news commentators' questions made her "angry, frustrated and, yes, bitter." From vanden Heuvel:


Tonight, Gibson seemed shocked when the two candidates spoke of raising taxes on the very richest in this country. He seemed far more concerned about the Democratic candidates' proposal to raise the capital gains tax--and what he claimed would be the lost revenue-- than the fact, as the New York Times's Steven Greenhouse reports in his new must-read book, The Big Squeeze, that "since 1979, hourly earnings for 80 percent of American workers have risen by just 1, after inflation...[at a time when]the nation's economic pie is growing, but corporations by and large have not given their workers a bigger piece."

Wecht Trail: Judge refuses to step aside


U.S. District Judge Arthur Schwab refused to recuse himself from the case against Dr. Cyril Wecht after pressure from defense attorneys. Schwab declared a mistrial when the jury deadlocked and failed to deliver a verdict on April 8. The retrial is scheduled for May 27.


Wecht's attorneys forwarded a letter from 33 prominent Western Pennsylvanians to U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey. The letter asked Mukasey to intervene in the trail and dismiss the charges against the nationally recognized pathologist.


In response, Schwab accused Wecht's attorneys of "repeated and improper attempts at judge-shopping and disruption of the proceedings."


Wecht, the former Allegheny County coroner, is charged with wire fraud, mail fraud, and misusing his staff to benefit his private practice. He is also charged with trading unclaimed county morgue cadavers for office space at Carlow University.


"Wecht judge says he won't step aside" Jonathan D. Silver, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Monday, April 14, 2008

Pottsville Republican: Great Maroons Debate on Friday


On Friday, David Fleming, of ESPN magazine, and Joe Horrigan will debate whether the NFL should give the Pottsville Maroons its 1925 championship. Fleming wrote a book last year about the legendary team. The Breaker Boys was optioned by Sentinel Entertainment in 2006. Gavin O'Connor, the director of Disney's "Miracle," is set to direct the film.


Hillary launches attack ad against Obama


Hillary Clinton's campaign aired an ad tonight in Pennsylvania that attacks Obama for his comments at a San Francisco fundraising reception. The ad can be viewed from the Politico. Here is the script from the 30-second ad:


Clinton: “I'm Hillary Clinton and I approve this message.”


Announcer: “Barack Obama said that people in small towns ‘cling to guns or religion … as a way to explain their frustrations.’”


Woman 1: “I was very insulted by Barack Obama.” Man 1: “It just shows how out of touch Barack Obama is.”


Woman 2: “I'm not clinging to my faith out of frustration and bitterness. I find that my faith is very uplifting.”


Man 2: “The good people of Pennsylvania deserve a lot better than what Barack Obama said.”


Woman 1: “Hillary does understand the citizens of Pennsylvania better.”


Woman 3: “Hillary Clinton has been fighting for people like us her whole life.”

Latest Poll Numbers


Hillary Clinton leads Barack Obama 57% to 37% in Pennsylvania. Last week, the American Research Group's poll found Clinton and Obama in a tie. Despite Obama's numbers coming out of Pennsylvania, he continues to lead nationally. A Gallup poll today finds Obama leading Clinton 50% to 40%.
UPDATE: The Wall Street Journal's Carl Bialik questions the accuracy of ARG's poll numbers.
"But there are reasons to question ARG polling numbers. In a polling report card of 2008 primary accuracy issued by a rival survey company, ARG ranked in the bottom half of more than three dozen polling firms, among 2008 primaries through late February. It also ranked near the bottom in another ranking of pollster accuracy at fivethirtyeight.com, a Web site that tracks the Electoral College. And, as I wrote last month, the widely tracked polling averages at the political Web site Real Clear Politics don’t include ARG numbers, because of concerns about transparency. Like they’ve been in Pennsylvania, ARG polls also were volatile in previous primaries, notably in Wisconsin, which saw a 16-point swing in just two days."

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Luzerne County Commisioners Petrilla and Skrepenak split


The Times Leader reports today that Democratic Luzerne County commissioners Maryanne Petrilla and Greg Skrepenak have ended their political ties. The $110,000 in the Friends of Skrepenak and Petrilla committee fund has been equally split and transferred into their individual campaign committees.


Skrepenak told the Times Leader that Petrilla "wants to be a dictator. She wants to tell people what to do."



"He said he's bitter because he supported Petrilla's 2005 run for county controller and chose her to be his Democratic commissioner teammate last year. Skrepenak said Petrilla never raised concerns about his tenure until after she was elected commissioner.

'Where was Maryanne Petrilla for two years as a controller? She didn't say anything to me. For two years she sat back and said nothing,' Skrepenak said. 'I'm tired of being the one taking the blame for everything.'

He homed in on questionable debit-card spending, saying Petrilla should have received more heat for not detecting it as controller. The office had access to computerized financial records, and money to pay the bills was deducted from specific accounts, he said.

'If money was taken out, her office should have been asking, 'Where are the receipts?' Skrepenak said. 'The only reason I didn't bring this up back then is because she was my teammate, and I wanted to get us both elected.'"

Why should Skrepenak grow tired of taking the blame? He is involved in the debit-card scandal. Petrilla should not be crticized for failing to detect the debit-card spending as county controller. County Manager/Chief Clerk Sam Guesto, an ally of Skrepenak, acknowledged last October that he violated the debit-card policy by not sending receipts and documentation to Petrilla. As the Times Leader reported today, "Petrilla has said the administration intentionally circumvented the controller's office by deducting debit-card payments without presenting receipts and payment requests to the controller's office."


Skrepenak did not want the controller's office to ask for the debit-card receipts. Last December, Skrepenak disclosed that he used his county debit card to make unallowable purchases. He used the card to pay hotel charges in York for his three children.


Time Line: Petrilla and Skrepenak history, The Citizens Voice

Monday, April 7, 2008

Latest Poll: Clinton and Obama tied



April 6, 2008 - Pennsylvania Democratic Primary Preference
Pennsylvania Democrats

April 5-6

Clinton 45%
Obama 45%


"Barack Obama leads Hillary Clinton 53% to 36% among men (46% of likely Democratic primary voters). Among women, Clinton leads 52% to 39%.
Clinton leads 52% to 36% among white voters (80% of likely Democratic primary voters). Obama leads 89% to 9% among African American voters (16% of likely Democratic primary voters).


"Obama leads 52% to 38% among voters age 18 to 49 (52% of likely Democratic primary voters) and Clinton leads 52% to 38% among voters age 50 and older.
27% of all likely Democratic primary voters and 41% of likely Democratic primary voters age 18 to 49 say they would never vote for Hillary Clinton in the primary and 25% of likely Democratic primary voters say they would never vote for Barack Obama in the primary."

Margaret Carlson trashes Pennsylvania


In the lead up to the primary, the national news media has flocked to Pennsylvania and continues to analyze its residents ad nauseam. Many residents cringe when they hear reporters inaccurately portray their state. Politicos are not paying compliments to Pennsylvanians when they quote Jim Carville over and over again: "Pennsylvania is Philadelphia and Pittsburgh with Alabama in between."


This past weekend, Margaret Carlson, of Bloomberg News, seemed to encapsulate the inaccuracy of reporters' portrayals of the state. In her column, Carlson critiques Obama for his failure to connect with the average Pennsylvanian voter. In a bombastic and offensive fashion, Carlson makes Pennsylvania look like a state without any dignity or sophistication.

Carlson, a native of Camp Hill, notes that she "grew up in that swath of the Keystone State between Pittsburgh and the eastern seaboard that remains happily stuck in the 1950s, when men were men and the steel mills thrived." "When I return there," writes Carlson, "I raise eyebrows for driving a foreign car and having gone to law school without signing on with the FBI."

Come on, Margaret. Camp Hill is an affluent area with a highly educated populace. People do not raise eyebrows because you are driving a foreign car. Her embarrasing and relentless commentary on Pennsylvania continues:


"In many places, the daughers and sons of...families look back and think their parents were hopelessly hokey, if not chumps. But not in Harrisburg, the town that Starbucks forgot until recently. Like upstate New York, where the blue-haired ladies also had to cope with disappearing jobs and hound dog husbands."

First off Margaret, there are six Starbucks in the Harrisburg area. She fails to acknowledge how Harrisburg is becoming a model city for other municipalities in Pennsylvania. The Reading Eagle reported last year that, "Harrisburg, thanks in large part to Restaurant Row, is enjoying a renaissance. Other cities around Pennsylvania are trying, with mixed success, to duplicate its formula of drawing people downtown with new restaurants and bars."

Despite her outrageously inaccurate portrayal of the area, Margaret Carlson claims that she visits her home very often. Perhaps she should get out of her foreign car next time.

Thursday, April 3, 2008

Time: Can Ed Rendell Deliver for Clinton?


Dowd: On PA campaign trail, Obama needs to become more macho than Hillary




Maureen Dowd, NY Times:


"Obama has been less adept at absorbing the lesson of Hillary’s metamorphosis from entitled queen of the party to scrappy blue-collar mama. His strenuous and inadvertently hilarious efforts to woo working-class folk in Pennsylvania have only made him seem more effete. Keeping his tie firmly in place, he genteelly sipped his pint of Yuengling beer at Sharky’s sports cafe in Latrobe and bowled badly in Altoona. Challenging Obama to a bowl-off, Hillary kindly offered to 'spot him two frames.'

At the Wilbur chocolate shop in Lititz Monday, he spent most of his time skittering away from chocolate goodies, as though he were a starlet obsessing on a svelte waistline.'Oh, now,' the woman managing the shop told him with a frown, 'you don’t worry about calories in a chocolate factory.'

The Times’s Michael Powell reports that, after watching five plump, white-haired women in plastic hairnets spin the chocolate into such confections as 'Phantom of the Opera' masks and pink high heels, he ventured: “Do you actually eat the chocolate or do you get sick of it?” They giggled at his silliness.

He looked even more concerned when he was offered a chocolate cake with white chocolate frosting. 'Oh, man.' he said. 'That’s too decadent for me.'

One of the most valuable lessons the gritty Hillary can teach the languid Obama — and the timid Democrats — is that the whole point of a presidential race is to win."

"The Hillary Waltz" - Maureen Dowd, NY Times

Ravenstahl backs Pittsburgh-Allegheny County merger

Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl endorsed the idea of merging the city and Allegheny County. Today, Ravenstahl unveiled a report on governmental cooperation with county Chief Executive Dan Onorato and University of Pittsburgh Chancellor Mark Nordenberg.

Friday, March 28, 2008

Casey backs Obama


From the Philly Inquirer:


Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey plans to endorse Sen. Barack Obama for president today in Pittsburgh, sending a message both to the state's primary voters and to undecided superdelegates who might decide the close race for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Dan Pfeiffer, deputy communications director for the Obama campaign, confirmed that Casey would announce his support during a rally at the Soldiers and Sailors Military Museum and Memorial and that he would then set out with the Illinois senator on part of a six-day bus trip across the state.


The endorsement comes as something of a surprise. Casey, a deliberative and cautious politician, had been adamant about remaining neutral until after the April 22 primary. He had said he wanted to help unify the party after the intensifying fight between Obama and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.


"There are few stronger advocates for working families in Pennsylvania than Sen. Casey," Pfeiffer said.
By coming out for Obama, Casey puts himself at odds with many top state Democrats - including Gov. Rendell, Rep. John P. Murtha and Mayor Nutter - who are campaigning for Clinton.


The endorsement also comes at a crucial time for Obama, who has been trailing Clinton in Pennsylvania polls by double-digit margins but who also has bought at least $1.6 million worth of television advertising statewide in the last week, more than double Clinton's expenditure.
Obama strategists hope that Casey can help their candidate make inroads with the white working-class men who are often referred to as "Casey Democrats." This group identifies with the brand of politics Casey and his late father, a former governor, practiced - liberal on economic issues but supportive of gun rights and opposed to abortion. (Obama favors some gun-control measures and backs abortion rights.)


Obama badly lost the white working-class vote to Clinton in Ohio and Texas on March 4, keeping the outcome of the fight in doubt amid questions about whether he could appeal to a group of voters that has often strayed from the party in presidential elections.
Since then, Obama has been stressing economic issues important to the middle class more often than his calls to reform politics. His campaign's recent TV ads in Pennsylvania also feature blue-collar imagery.


Other state Democrats who support Obama include Reps. Patrick Murphy and Chaka Fattah, and former Lt. Gov. Mark Singel.


Casey sees Obama as an "underdog" in the campaign who sacrificed at the beginning of his career to be a community organizer "in the shadows of the closed steel mills in Chicago," said a source close to Casey who is familiar with the endorsement decision but was not authorized to speak publicly about it.


The source, reached by The Inquirer yesterday, said that Casey was also impressed with how Obama had stood up to the pressures of the campaign, including recent attacks over the racially incendiary remarks of his former pastor.


Casey's decision was also personal, motivated in part by the enthusiasm his four daughters - Elyse, Caroline, Julia and Marena - have expressed for Obama, the source said. "He thinks we shouldn't be deaf to the voices of the next generation."

Thursday, March 27, 2008

WaPo's Ignatius in need of PA economic lessons



In today's Washington Post, David Ignatius warns the Democratic candidates against talking about the "future more as a threat than an as opportunity." Ignatius writes that "such radical pessimism about the U.S. economy is a mistake, at least over the long run -- and there's no state in the country that proves the optimists' case about America better than Pennsylvania."


Ignatius cites his past employment in Pennsylvania in 1976, when he covered the state's collapsing steel industry for the Wall Street Journal. He discusses rising employment in the state:


Employment in Pennsylvania reached an all-time high in January and then fell slightly in February. People here fear that a steep recession may be coming. But as of February, unemployment in the state was just 4.9 percent. Since January 2003, Pennsylvania has added 178,000 new jobs, according to the state government.

Where are all these new jobs coming from? The answer is that as the old rust-belt manufacturing industries sank, Pennsylvania became a platform for innovators in technology, finance and the health industry. What saved the state, above all, was its concentration of great universities, which provided the human capital for growth.

Ignatius fails to mention the state's top private employer: Wal-Mart. The corporate behemoth, according to the state government, is the largest private employer. Only the federal and state governments employ more state residents.

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Madonna: Lehigh Valley and Southeast could help Obama take PA


In the Allentown Morning Call, G. Terry Madonna and Michael Young write that Obama has a chance to beat Hillary in Pennsylvania:



He is positioned to emulate Rendell to a greater extent than is generally recognized. Essentially he must win the same 10 counties Rendell won in 2002, while reducing Clinton's margins in her strongholds. Currently he leads in Philly and will likely win there decisively, making the suburbs a major battleground. The Democratic voters there largely mirror the upscale, affluent voters Obama has been attracting nationally: They are the most liberal in the state, strongly oppose the Iraq War, with a low regard for President Bush. For insurance Obama needs to join the Philadelphia suburbs to the two pivotal swing areas, the Lehigh Valley and Southcentral, where the Democrats are moderate to liberal and where he currently polls well against Sen. Clinton. Beyond this, managing turnout will be crucial for him.


According to the Boston Globe, the Obama camp has given up any hope of winning delegates in the state. Their plan is to narrow Hillary's lead in the popular vote:




Obama's campaign has given every indication that he does not expect to win the most delegates when Pennsylvania votes on April 22, due to an overwhelmingly white, working-class electorate that has already given Hillary Clinton a sizable lead in some polls. But Obama's team has put to work an intense registration program designed to achieve a broader strategic goal: limiting the scale of Clinton's win to maintain Obama's national edge in the number of total votes cast in the Democratic primaries.

That contest for total votes, while meaningless in any formal sense, is a key to Clinton's strategy for wooing superdelegates by convincing them that she has the broadest strength among voters.

"In this state right now, his game is about bringing the popular-vote differential down," said Ken Smukler, a Pennsylvania Democratic strategist unaligned with either candidate. "Since Super Tuesday, this game has never been just about pledged delegates."

The Obama campaign's registration program seems to be working, even in deep Hillary country.
From the Hazleton Standard-Speaker:


On the last day of voter registration, Sen. Barack Obama’s supporters had a clear edge over those for his Democratic rival, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, at the Luzerne County Bureau of Elections. Obama supporters brought boxes filled with more than 3,000 voter registration forms to the bureau’s office on North Pennsylvania Avenue in Wilkes-Barre on Monday, while volunteers for Clinton returned several hundred forms, Director of Elections Leonard Piazza said.











Wednesday, March 19, 2008

McCain gives Barletta the cold-shoulder


Senator John McCain has rejected Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta's invitation to come to the city and discuss immigration issues. Jo Black, a scheduling official, said, "I must pass along his regrets as I do not foresee an opportunity to add this event to the calendar." In a letter, Barletta said he was "troubled" by McCain's rejection and hoped he would reconsider.


Last week, Barletta invited the three presidential contenders to visit Hazleton. In the letter, Barletta wrote, "No matter what your position or voting record on illegal immigration, we want you to come to Hazleton and meet with our citizens and talk with our first responders, law enforcement, medical professionals and elected officials.” In the past, Sens. McCain, Hillary Clinton, and Barack Obama have voiced their opposition to Barletta's controversial anti-illegal immigration city ordinance, which is now being challenged in federal court.


Barletta, whose tough stance on illegal immigration put him in the national spotlight, is now running for Congress in the 11th Congressional District against Rep. Paul Kanjorski.


G. Terry Madonna, of Franklin and Marshall College, told The Citizens Voice earlier this week that, "Coming back once in a while would be a pretty good idea, but (McCain) doesn’t have to live here like the Democrats.”


Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Hillary gaining momentum in latest Quinnipiac Poll




A new Quinnipiac University poll shows Senator Hillary Clinton leading Senator Barack Obama 53-41 percent among primary voters. In a February 27 Quinnipiac poll, Clinton was leading Obama 49-43 percent.
"In this latest survey, the split between black and white voters grows. Clinton has widened her lead among women likely Democratic primary voters and narrowed Obama's lead among men. Subgroup numbers are:
-White voters go with Clinton 61 - 33 percent, compared to 56 - 37 percent February 27.

-Black voters back Obama 76 - 18 percent, compared to 69 - 23 percent February 27.
-Women back Clinton 59 - 35 percent.
-Men go 48 percent for Obama to 45 percent for Clinton, compared to February 27 when men backed him 50 - 43 percent.
-Obama gets 50 percent of Democrats with a college degree, to Clinton's 45 percent.
-Among voters with no college degree, Clinton leads 57 - 37 percent.
-Voters under 45 back Obama 57 - 39 percent while voters over 45 back Clinton 60 - 34 percent."

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Today's Papers - Pennsylvania Matters

Throughout the state, newspapers provide coverage of last night's Texas and Ohio primaries. With Hillary Clinton's victory in both states, Pennsylvania's April 22 primary counts. Chris Borick, a political science professor at Muhlenberg College, tells the Harrisburg Patriot-News that, "Just having that much time in the middle of a campaign that is so unbelievably dynamic with no other game in town for seven weeks - there's nothing like this in modern as well as historic politics." In the Allentown Morning Call, Josh Drobnyk writes that, "Ohio and Pennsylvania have more than a border in common. They share similar demographics and economies. So as the presidential campaigns lay out their strategies in Pennsylvania, they aren't likely to dismiss what voters thought in Ohio."

The Philadelphia Inquirer notes that "not since Jimmy Carter in 1976 have residents in the state had a real voice in a presidential primary." Both the Obama and Clinton campaigns have opened offices in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. The Clinton campaign plans to open offices in Scranton, Allentown, State College, Harrisburg, Erie and Johnstown by the end of the week.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes, "The delegate math made it unlikely, though not impossible, that Mrs. Clinton could overcome the Obama lead, even with a string of strong showings in Pennsylvania and other subsequent primaries. But by the same token -- as the Clinton campaign has pointed out repeatedly in recent weeks -- neither Democrat was in a position to capture the nomination on the strength of pledged delegates alone."

Thursday, February 28, 2008