Washington Post, 11/7/06:

The popular senator from Illinois, who has barnstormed the country on behalf of Democratic gubernatorial and congressional candidates, is one of the A-list political celebrities of the 2006 campaign season...  Obama may be the biggest attraction [of them all]. Despite his brief two years on the national stage, Obama has generated rapturous enthusiasm among Democrats, and he has said he is considering a presidential run. His success on the campaign trail in recent weeks has added to his cachet.

Obama campaigning for Claire McCaskill in Missouri:

It's hard to feel too sorry for someone who, while trumpeting unity, acceptance, and hope, had his twenty-year close relationship with a hate-spewing racist pastor blow up in his face, but you have to feel sorry for Barack Obama.  It's stunning how all of those high-level supporters who were so eager to appear everywhere just weeks ago have suddenly jumped down their holes and left Barack Obama swinging in the wind.

[From the Frog Pond]

These are my observations on the Pennsylvania primary.  

Obama did slightly less well in Philadelphia than expected.  He pulled in 65% of the vote and got a net of about 140,000 votes out of Philadelphia County.  I expected him to get closer to 70%.  His underperformance cost him about 20,000 votes.  In the greater scheme of things, this was not hugely significant, but it cost him a chance to narrow the margin.  

First of all, I would like to say that this is my first diary. I am a college student at University of Pittsburgh, and the excitement over Obama's candidacy in this state, in this city and on this campus is overwhelming. Originally, I had been a John Edwards fan and I was very disappointed when he dropped out of the race. I was not sure who I would rather have as the nominee, but after last night and hearing Senator Obama speak alongside his wife, Senator Bob Casey and Theresa Heinz Kerry, I decided that Obama is definitely ready to lead this country.

News of the Obama rally at the Petersen Events Center, located on the campus of University of Pittsburgh, spread like wildfire throughout the city and campus through the whole day. The doors would open at 7:30 PM and the speech would begin at 9:30. The line would eventually stretch around the entire campus, and the police were eventually needed to help direct traffic and direct the line.

The Petersen Events Center is a massive structure able to hold over 10,000 people, and while it was not filled last night, I would say that it was over 3/4 filled overall. The speech was excellent, and after hearing his plans for our country, I know he is "prepared to lead from day one."

Just putting this out there because maybe some of you might be thinking the same thing.  But if Obama doesn't need a Veep to strengthen him in some aspect such as foreign relations or economics (as I see it) but goes the Clinton Gore route in his choice.  Would he should he consider Bob Casey Jr.  And what does this bring him?  Catholics?  Pennsylvania on a platter in the Fall?  A peel of Pro Lifers from the Repubs?  A person who can hold his own against whomever McCain  chooses as his Veep?  It's just a thought and maybe worth a chew.  

Kennedy's endorsement was important. It marked Obama's accpetance by the party's establishment early in the campaign. But there's no other endorsement in this grueling, tiresome campaign from which Obama benefited more than that of Sen. Casey.

Without Casey, Obama faced a repetition of OH where Clinton had a powerful Gov. on her side, with no big time local politicians supporting Obama. Ed Rendell was ready to run over Obama with his PA machine. This is when Casey entered the fray, mainly neutralizing Rendell and giving Obama much needed credence with blue collar PA.

It was Casey who helped Obama to cut into Clinton's double-digit lead in the polls in a matter of a week. It was Casey traveling with Obama nearly every day. Finally, it was Casey whose support helped Obama to weather a potentially danagerous bitter-gate by vouching for him. Take you hats off to Sen. Casey.

Scranton is Hillary's "third" home, outside of Arkansas and New York, it's where her Grandfather is Buried.  The blue collar town of 72,000+ poured out Sunday night to see Caroline Kennedy, Bob Casey and Senator Barack Obama.  

Swampland pegs the crowd at 4,800, really quite a showing for a city widely suspected of potentially going 75%+ for Hillary...

Robert Gibbs told me earlier they’re looking to “draw votes.” Obama called the crowd “feisty” when they kept booing Hillary and they interrupted him a couple of times with chants of "Yes we can!"

With polls tightening in Pennsylvania, Clinton has more immediate concerns than winning the state: she has to make it to primary day. Just four months ago, Clinton held a commanding 106 person lead among superdelegates. In February, that lead fell to 87 superdelegates. Obama has since closed the gap to 30. In my view, freshman House Members and Senators are key to Clinton's survival. They constitute roughly one-third of outstanding superdelegates in Congress - and half of them remain uncommitted.

Hillary Clinton has made an issue of Barack Obama's relationship with a slumlord. Hillary's ties to a notorious slumlord are bone deep: they go directly to who she is. Her father's mother Hannah Jones Rodham of Scranton, Pa had a profound affect on her life. Hillary kicked off her Pa campaign in Scranton because she has a Living History in Scranton. Her father Hugh Rodham is cited in both Hillary Clinton's Living History and Carl Bernstein's biography of Hillary as a man who conducted a reign of terror psychologically and physically, being extremely cruel, menacing, sadistic, unpredictable, bullying. His wife Dorothy and children Hillary, Tony and Hugh suffered his relentless abuse and constant humilation.

Now it's the sins of Hillary's grandmother, Hannah Jones Rodham, which are being visited upon her. Since Hillary is so fond of accusing Senator Obama of having ties to slumlords and being utterly by apalled by the fact that Obama worked at a law firm that represented one property of Rezko's. Now it's time to revisit who Hannah Jones Rodham is and her role and effect on Hillary's life. In Living History, Hillary white washes the very subject that she herself raised and commented upon. Her less than authentic retelling of a big Living History story is taken up here today.

With polls fluctuating with Obama in an upward spiral--but still likely to fall below his eventual peak polling performances as a result of last minute Clinton attacks--the question remains whether Obama can win Pennsylvania.

Yes. He. Can.

Pennsylvania is really not one state, but many states.  Sections of Philadelphia, Harrisburg, Pittsburgh and Erie are like the District of Columbia.  Sections of Western Pennsylvania are like Ohio.  Parts of Southwestern Pennsylvania are an extension of West Virginia, while parts of Northwestern and Northeastern Pennsylvania are an extension of New York.  Much of rural Pennsylvania is similar to rural areas in Iowa and other states that Obama won.

Bob Casey's Obama endorsement says a lot about the future of the Democratic party and what progressives need to be doing.

crossposted from www.opednews.com

Yeah, yeah, you've heard it before.  The insurmountable pledged delegate deficit, the dried up finances, the Bosnia flap, etc. etc.  But, aside from all of that, Hillary Clinton had a mathematical chance at winning the nomination if the superdelegates were willing to give her the nomination (i.e., thwart the popular will and trigger intra-party civil war).

But, then I read this over at WaPo's "The Fix":

By appearing as magnanimous as possible toward Clinton, Obama is seeking to reassure these superdelegates that everything is going to be all right in the end. Meanwhile, his campaign in exerting ramped up pressure behind the scenes for superdelegates who are with Obama privately to be with him publicly.

That's right folks.  It's just a matter of convincing private Obama fans to come out publicly.  In fact, that's exactly what's happening now:

When I saw that Senator Bob Casey decided to endorse Barack Obama in part because of the enthusiasm of his four children, it reminded me that Caroline Kennedy's decision to endorse came, in part, at the urging of her children as did the decisions of Senator Claire McCaskill and Maria Shriver.  I wondered how common a phenomenon this is and what people think about it.  I think it is a healthy phenomenon in that families all across this country are engaged in dialogues about politics in a way that many may not have experienced for at least a generation.  Reading about Casey's endorsement, I believe that it is not an example of the younger generation foisting its naive opinions on the older generation but rather, the results of an earnest exchange of ideas about politics and that, while the older generation, may have the benefit of age and experience (if not always wisdom), the younger generation brings its superior access to information as well as its concerns and passion about the future of the world that they will inherit.

From NYTimes:  

Obama to Begin Push in Pennsylvania in Hope of Offsetting Clinton Advantages

It started with a concerted voter registration drive that ended on Monday. . . . . The Obama camp has moved to what it calls the persuasion phase of its campaign . . . .
"This is like a symphony," said Clifford Levine, a Pittsburgh lawyer, fund-raiser and chairman of Mr. Obama’s western Pennsylvania steering committee.  "You don’t start with a crescendo when you have five weeks.  You start with a softer sell.  We’ll build things up, and once there’s support and people get to know him, you start in with the big crescendo."

I am REALLY looking forward to the crescendo ...

More NYTimes tidbits below the fold.

I am increasingly convinced that Hillary Clinton staying in this race is probably going to kill Democratic chances in 2008.  All of the energy that could be used to build turnout operations in key states and districts is being wasted on this fight.  We know that the Clintons don't care about the Democratic party, they care about the Clintons and nothing else.  If you need evidence, you can just look at the decline of the Democratic party at their expense in the 1990's.  Democrats controlled everything when the Clinton's first came into Washington and ended up with nothing when they left in 2001.  

Some will, no doubt, argue that this endorsement is insignificant. They've never lived in Pennsylvania. US Senator Bob Casey, Jr. just provided a dramatic boost to the Presidential campaign of Illinois Senator Barack Obama.  

crossposted here

       As a former resident of Pennsylvania, I can tell you that when it comes to voting, the Keystone State is an odd place. There are blue areas around the state, mostly Philadelphia and other urban centers, but Pennsylvania is still a place where a good candidate, no matter what party, can rise to the top and become a force. Pennsylvanians tend to look at each individual candidate not so much for party affiliation, but for stands on individual issues.

As promised, I'm posting a photoblog in this space.  First, just some thoughts on the event itself:

• Turnout, as expected, was massive. Every seat I could see in Soldiers and Sailors was filled with a body.  I wasn't outside, but it seemed (as I was leaving) that there was a decent number of people standing outside as well, despite the cold.
• Introducing Obama was Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA), who took the opportunity to formally endorse Obama.
• Since he declared, I haven't had a chance to see him speak in person, but wow. Sen. Obama really is as incredible as everyone says he is. I supported him previously, but am now far more firm in my convictions, thanks to his eloquence and message.

UPDATE: Pictures finally here! And now links to YouTube!

Flip it!