PSoTD

Definitely a contender for the stupidest whining of the campaign so far:

After envisioning Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama stumping from one end of the state to the other, dipping into diners and delis, all but taking up residence here in the run-up to the state’s critical April 22 primary, Pennsylvania Democrats are teetering on the edge of a letdown.

Having seen far less of Clinton and Obama than they had expected and nearing the halfway point between the last contest in Mississippi and their big primary day, they want to know: Where’s the love?

“We feel neglected here,” said Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski, who has not yet endorsed a candidate. “People just assumed that, because they had such a long period, they would spend a lot of time in the state.”

Please. Normal people don't want six weeks of political saturation in March and April. Plus, the campaigns want to peak right on election day. Neglected? What did you expect?

Is this really what Pennsylvania wants?

Pennsylvania rivals gun-friendly Southern states like Virginia or Georgia as a firearms exporter, according to data from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Each year, hundreds of guns seized from criminals in New York and New Jersey are traced back to Pennsylvania gun stores, the ATF statistics show.

In 2006, ATF traced 332 guns from New Jersey crimes back to Pennsylvania gun dealers. No other state sent more.

The same year, 461 Pennsylvania guns were seized in New York City and state. Only Virginia sent more crime guns there, ATF found.

Unless there's a health issue, he seems like a natural pick for McCain to make as a running mate, especially if Pennsylvania is supposed to be so important in the General Election.

Herb Asher, an Ohio State University political science professor, said Graham would make the most sense among the three S.C. Republicans.

"A guy like Lindsey Graham is better known nationally and has broader appeal," Asher said.

Asher added, though, that choosing a running mate from South Carolina -- or another Deep South state -- could be perceived as a sign of political weakness in McCain's general election campaign.

"Presumably, he would be shoring up what should be a fairly solid Republican base," Asher said. "John McCain should be looking for someone from the Great Lakes states or another battleground region."

More likely choices for McCain, Asher said, would be Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty or former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge.

That's Obama-speak for "Alabama in the middle".

On a call with some of his major California donors yesterday, Barack Obama acknowledged that Pennsylvania will be a steep uphill battle, and said that his aim is to get within 10 points of Hillary there, something that he said would be a "victory" for him, according to a donor on the call.

"He said that Pennsylvania is tough for them and that the demographics really are not the best for them," the donor tells me, adding that Obama was speaking to the group of 40-odd contributors via conference call.

Okay, now I'm taking the "No Primary Blogging" pledge too!

This analysis basically says that Obama has no shot of winning Pennsylvania in the primary, and his only option is to keep the loss down to a minimum so that he can overcome the difference with North Carolina and Indiana afterwards.

More of Pennsylvania will know it, intimately, within a few years.

And so now, we have 7 weeks of Pennsylvania Democratic Presidential Primary campaigning ahead of us. I believe this quote is appropriate:

"There's so much time that the candidates are not going to be just flying back and forth between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia," said David Sweet, a Harrisburg lawyer who was manager of Gov. Rendell's 2002 campaign and is now supporting Obama.

"It's going to get down to looking at polls to see if the western part of Washington County is in play, what parts of Allentown to visit, or even the upper vs. the lower portion of Dauphin County," Sweet said.

And don't forget about Cumberland County. Sure, there's a lot of red out here, but there's a few liberal bloggers out on the West Shore as well, and maybe, just maybe we could get our act together to have a Drinking Liberally meeting if Obama or Hillary wanted to visit such esteemed individuals.

Just don't send Mark Penn or any other grouchy members of either campaign.

Seriously, I wonder how much business at local diners the upcoming time will provide Pennsylvania. Meet and greet, meet and greet, meet and greet...

Pennsylvania really, really needs to change this image:

It's been said that Pennsylvania consists of Pittsburgh on one side, Philadelphia on the other, and Alabama in the middle.

When somebody actually uses that as some sort of analysis of Pennsylvania's politics, or a socioeconomic analysis, or whatever, then I usually look at that person as either full of shit or dumb as shit. First of all, it's an old adage that didn't even make sense whenever it was first created. Exactly how is Central Pennsylvania like Alabama? Those who say this line should be forced to explain exactly what they mean.

Secondly, it ignores what is going on in Central Pennsylvania - pockets of growth greater than the state average. In the 21st Century, Cumberland County has been growing at 4 times the rate of the entire state. Centre County - nearly 3 times. Franklin County? Six times the state rate. York County - seven times. Meanwhile, Allegheny County is losing population, Philadelphia County is losing people, and many of the counties surrounding Pennsylvania's two biggest cities have slowed down in growth.

Why is that? Because Central Pennsylvania is a relative bargain in cost. Cultural, recreational and educational assets are growing in the local regions and in addition, the advantages of Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, New York City and Pittsburgh are a short drive away. Is that what they mean by that comparison with Alabama?

Well, this rain ain't gonna be nothing compared to the political downpour we're about to face as the primary season shifts here.

Congratulations to Hillary Clinton - she did what her campaign said she had to do.

So when am I going to see a news story about one of these events having an impact on specific Pennsylvania local government bond ratings?

The Financial Guaranty Insurance Company (FGIC) lost its triple-A credit rating, due to guarantees it had made on structured securities, and this raised serious questions about whether it could meet obligations on US$220bil (RM708bil) of municipal bonds that it had also guaranteed.