I already was vaguely aware that Hillary came from a middle-class background. I read the NYT article three times and don't see anything remarkable about her ties to Scranton or her background.  At least, nothing that would extend outside PA and perhaps not even have statewide implications.

I wonder a bit whether she doesn't emphasize her background since she actually came from a conservative family and volunteered for Barry Goldwater herself. We all go through transformations of course (as Reagan was a Democrat and pro-union in his early adulthood) but my hunch is that Hillary's background will remain relatively moot--except in the Scranton area.