McCain, Get Out of My State!!
So the latest word is that McCain is abandoning his campaign efforts in swing states like Colorado, Iowa, and New Mexico, and focusing his attention on Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania! Polls shows that Pennsylvania is currently leaning fairly significantly in Obama’s direction (electoral-vote.com puts Obama ahead in PA by 12 percentage points, RealClearPolitics puts him ahead by 11 percentage points) . But McCain/Palin are digging up the bigots in as many dinky towns as they can, and if I have to watch any more footage of some racist, ignorant Pennsylvanians ranting about how afraid they are of Obama the Muslim terrorist who will kill white babies, I’m going to die of embarrassment! I know Pennsylvania is full of reasonable and intelligent people that the nut-jobs spewing these embarrassing statements don’t represent. Pennsylvania is a big electoral prize, and McCain/Palin are aiming their manipulative, aw-shucks, fear mongering message squarely at the Keystone State. Come on Pennsylvania, don’t fall for it!!!
As Andy Tanenbaum at electoral-vote.com says (quoting James Carville), Pennsylvania is Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, with Alabama in between. But this tactic will be a lead balloon just like all the others have been.
Aw, don’t worry, Terri. They’re only going after the “real Pennsylvania” (just like “real Virginia”) - http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=188635&title=pfriend-or-pfoe.
There are pockets of Pennsylvania in between Pittsburgh and Philly that aren’t Alabama, but I get what Carville’s saying and to some extent he’s right. I have family in that area–I grew up there, and trust me–the people we’ve been seeing at McCain/Palin rallies in PA are not totally representative of everyone living in those places. That said, they are an influence in those areas for sure, and people who live there who don’t agree with them can’t get complacent.
It just annoys me that they would target PA this way. It’s an insult!!
Unfortunately, there’s plenty of folks more than willing to attend a McCain / Palin circus sideshow. YAHOO! Maybe that’s why they’re coming. Seems Ms. Palin liked what she saw when she visited Johnstown and passed by Way Fruit Farm outside State College. There will always be some folks attracted to celebrity and simple minded rah-rah.
Not sure if you heard it already, but This American Life devoted this week’s episode to the campaigns and voter registration drives across Pennsylvania, including a couple of significant segments that take place in State College (and even give props to Penn State football past and present). Download full episode for the remainder of the week, or stream it from this page afterward.
Aim-eretto! Thanks a lot for that. I hadn’t heard it but I will definitely give it a listen!
Okay, the This American Life piece is indeed interesting. In the bit about State College they mention 16803, for gosh-sakes. The ad they play at the beginning in the bit about Scranton is delivered by a woman with a Midwestern accent–not a PA accent.
“Are you out of your ever-lovin’ mind, lady?” Indeed.
It’s pretty shocking that there’s so much racism. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again–in the U.S. people talk about Obama being black, while in Europe people talk about him being of mixed race, which is more accurate, but really it DOES-NOT-MATTER. He could be spotted orange.
Some of the episode is pretty gloomy. But I just don’t buy it. Maybe it’s just because I’m in Massachusetts, and maybe I get a skewed impression of things because of where I live, but I remain hopeful.
Wow!!! Jay Paterno talked at the Obama campaign in State College? I’m pretty sure Joe is a dyed-in-the-wool Republican. More Dems than Republicans in State College! I am so with Diane Gregg–State College will not be Alabama!!!
I noticed that accent, too!
I liked the mosaic of stories in that episode. Ira cops to an editorial bias, the frankness of which I appreciated. But the stories did show a broad cross-section of a state that can’t be easily pigeonholed.