Some critics of Obama’s campaign strategy have accused the Democratic standard-bearer of excessive targeting of traditional GOP states while neglecting his base.
One of the most important states for Obama to win is Pennsylvania and its large bloc of 21 electoral votes. Last week vice presidential nominee Joe Biden put the issue bluntly: "We cannot win without winning Pennsylvania."
Obama is weak in the central and western portions of the state that are largely rural and mostly white. In this spring’s Democratic primary Hillary Clinton trounced Obama in many counties in these areas.
These counties where Obama fared poorly in the Democratic primary lie along the Interstate 80 corridor. The I-80 highway has become a major political issue throughout the state. Democratic Governor Ed Rendell has proposed that I-80 become a toll road from one end of the state to the other.
Interstate 80 runs 311 miles from the Delaware Water Gap in the east to the Ohio border in the west. Most of this long stretch of highway goes through beautiful rolling hills and majestic valleys. These areas are sparsely populated. Voters along the I-80 corridor are almost exclusively white, older than the general population, conservative, and working-class. These are precisely the voters with whom Obama has had trouble making a good connection.
The Rendell plan would place 10 toll collection stations along the highway, which for decades has been free for all traffic. Under the Rendell proposal, a car traveling from one end of the state to the other would be assessed a toll of about $25.
Expectedly, voters in the counties along Interstate 80 do not like the idea of having to pay for something that has been free for them for decades. Millions of voters in the northern part of the state particularly resent the fact that a large chunk of toll money from I-80, an estimated $400 million annually, will be diverted to fix bridges and roads in other parts of the state. Fiscal conservatives in Pennsylvania are unhappy with the state’s plan to borrow up to $10 billion just to get the toll system up and running before even one dime is collected.
But it is not just the voters along the I-80 corridor who object to the plan to place tolls on the highway. Officials in the Lehigh Valley fear a huge increase in truck traffic along Interstate 78, which runs parallel to Interstate 80, but is 30 miles further south. This interstate highway runs through more populated areas and will remain free to all traffic. As a result, large volumes of interstate truck traffic traveling through Pennsylvania will undoubtedly change course to avoid I-80 and result in major congestion on I-78 and other highways.
Also there is wide-ranging opposition to the plan from businesses along the I-80 corridor. Companies that ship their goods by truck will face huge increases in transportation costs. The estimated toll for a truck from one end of Pennsylvania to the other will be about $100. One CEO of a manufactured home company that employs 700 people in Clarion County threatens that if the plan goes into effect he will ship about 6,000 homes per year by truck through local streets to avoid the tolls on I-80.
Many chapters of the Pennsylvania Chamber of Commerce and other industry groups fear that businesses will be less likely to relocate along the I-80 corridor in Pennsylvania if the toll plan is enacted. This could be bad news for the local economy and for the jobs outlook in the region.
Polls reflect widespread dissatisfaction with the Rendell plan. Only 36 percent of the voters in Pennsylvania approve of the plan. And support for the plan along the I-80 corridor is far lower.
Obama could win large numbers of I-80 corridor voters by supporting opposition to the Rendell plan. The issue is a legitimate one for Obama to address. I-80 is a federal highway. Obama sits in the Senate, which, along with the House of Representatives, has oversight powers over all aspects of interstate commerce. The Federal Highway Administration must approve the Rendell plan before it can be implemented.
In opposing the I-80 toll plan Obama would show his concern for the severe pocketbook problems faced by working-class voters in these counties. By opposing a new huge government levy on ordinary citizens, he also refutes the charge that he is a typical "tax and spend" liberal. Finally, he shows he can reach across the aisle to work with Republican officeholders, many of whom oppose the Rendell plan. In short, in Pennsylvania Obama could usurp the maverick label from McCain.
In adopting this strategy there is a very important potential downside. By opposing the governor’s highway toll plan, Obama could lose the cooperation of the Rendell organization in the fall presidential campaign. After weighing all options the Obama campaign could well decide that the strategy is not worth the risk of alienating the Rendell forces in Pennsylvania.
Nevertheless, opposing the I-80 toll plan ought to be considered by Obama’s advisers. The rewards lie in winning support from hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvania voters with whom Obama has made no connection to date.
For more political strategies regarding the 2008 presidential election, go to ObamaElectionWatch.com