...which is not the same as "insignificant," but a fitting reply to the Clinton goalpost-moving strategy that, essentially, translates to the notion that only the states in which they have the advantage should count.
If Obama's camp lets the Clintonistas have their way, the remainder of the race will be framed as "Pennsylvania will decide who wins." Then, when (and it's far more likely "when" than "if") she wins there, the race will be declared virtually over, with Clinton having "done what she needs to do" to convince the superdelegates to overturn the pledged-delegate majority (which will certainly belong to Obama, no matter what happens from here on in) and anoint her the standard-bearer.
There are two ways Obama can respond to this:
- Go toe-to-toe with her on her turf, and try to beat her at her own game. Noble but, as Ohio and Texas proved, likely a fool's errand. Hillary has every advantage there: demographics, proximity to her home state, the endorsement of the state Democratic machine. Personally, I think we'd be likely to see a repeat of Texas, Ohio, or Massachusetts: Obama comes in from far behind, cuts it much closer (maybe even to a dead heat in the final polls), but still loses. And, by tacitly agreeing to play her "Pennsylvania decides it" game, he'll have given her the ammunition she needs to stake her claim to the superdelegates.
- Refuse to play HRC's game. During the "intermission" before the last group of primaries, certainly campaign in Pennsylvania, but also in the other states that will be having primaries in the weeks afterward; particularly North Carolina, Indiana, and Oregon. As someone else suggested, spend some of that time campaigning, not for yourself, but for Democratic candidates in "down-ticket" races. When asked about Pennsylvania, respond something like "Pennsylvania is but one of a number of states that will be having primaries before the campaign is over. It happens to be one in which Senator Clinton does very well -- which is no doubt why she'd like it to be the only state anyone looks at. But we're going to be taking our campaign to voters in North Carolina, Indiana, Oregon, and other states as well. Our goal is to make a difference for Americans everywhere, not just in one state."
In other words, present Pennsylvania as just a state, rather than the state, in the primary process. That way, even if he loses, it won't dent his image as did Texas and Ohio, because he didn't set all his store in it, and even admitted it was a state likely to go to Clinton. If he comes closer than expected, it will be at least a slight blow to Clinton. And if he should win, she'd likely be finished. But, either way, if Obama can manage to re-frame the campaign so that Pennsylvania won't be seen as the ultimate, decisive race, it can only help his chances.