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Obama's PA Strategy: The Rendell Way
The Pennsylvania primary is less than two weeks away, eleven days to be exact. Clinton still leads Obama in the polls. But, he has tightened the gap. If he wins Pennsylvania, thats it. Game, I mean, race over.
I'm not the only one who thinks so. Two weeks ago in the New York Times, an Obama backer, who is not authorized to speak for the campaign, had this to say.
We win if we lose by only five points. The immediate goal is for us not to lose by 10 points. But if she loses by a point, she's out.
So, with such high stakes in the Keystone state, I was curious about what Obama's strategy is to achieve a victory.
To my suprise, his game plan can be given a name, I call it the "Rendell Way." PA Governor Rendell, by the way, is Clinton's biggest surrogate in Pennsylvania. His victory in the 2002 gubernatorial primary was unexpected. Political experts and pundits are drawing similarities between Rendell's 2002 win and the Obama campaign's current game plan. I found this article by Steve Volk in The New Republic today quite interesting. Volk wrote:
To maximize these advantages, David Sweet, Rendell's campaign manager in 2002 and an Obama volunteer, says the campaign should follow the governor's strategy: "Win by a huge margin in Philadelphia, a significant margin in the suburbs, break even in Allegheny County, and basically hold on for dear life in the rest of the state." And the Obama campaign, for its part, seems to be trying to do just that.
In a Times article published two weeks ago, David Sweet said basically the same thing:
The Rendell voters are Obama voters [according to David Sweet]. "The Rendell support was urban, southeast, African-American, affluent, liberal, and suburban," Mr. Sweet said. "And the approach was to get a huge turnout in the southeast by a significant margin, run as close as we could in Allegheny and try to hold the margin down in the southwest."
Time will only tell if this strategy will bring Obama to a victory like it did for Rendell. We are living in different times than 2002. The candidates are running their campaigns when the country is at war and in a recession. These major issues have to have some effect on the minds of voters in Pennsylvania. So, Obama can hope this strategy takes him to victory on April 22nd. But, I think it is safer to say that the results will be close and unpredictable, as they have been so far in this race for the White House.
Stay tuned for coverage from Pennsylvania, as myself, and fellow editor, Liz Burlingame, report for www.seattlepoliticore.org from the Keystone State beginning next Friday the 18th.
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mrs. mansfield you are right point, i was reading something llike how obama can come over the top
I hope that he does win. He deserves to win it. He is the only candidate left that is honest, genuine and has integrity. Hillary is a liar and McWar is a warmonger.
Calm down people; Obama simply conveyed the anxieties of americans on a national level.
Declines in local economies are a decline in personal fortune and such realities do not leave people smiling all the way to the welfare office; it breeds fear for the future, and anger. Globalisation does not favour communities or patriotism, it's a system that favours lower wages and production costs in general. Jobs and opportunities have shifted to places like Eastern Europe and Asia precisely due to such factors, resulting in pent-up anger, against the chinese, the mexicans, and the eastern europeans. This is nothing to be embarrassed about simply because a politician has finally put his finger on the button, it's a fact.
For Obama to relate the frustrations, fears and partial angers of one part of America to the other is essential in forming a consensual realisation that the problems of one must be the shared problems of the entire country, and will require a national solution.
Globalisation has brought many unforeseen problems, and it consequences are being felt first and foremost by the wage earners, communites, good people who're afraid, frustrated and angry, in every country. Awareness of the consequences of such problems is important in preventing the internal splintering of hope, will, and optimism, of the nation's communities while developing a remedy for implementation. They only way forward is together: A nation divided against itself will not stand (with or without your guns).
It's a smart strategy, play to your strength and try to "steal" a few votes in Clinton territory.
With this much time and the enthuiasm he creates, anything is possible.
I think the word he meant for us is "CRACKERS" a word he no doubt knew before he attended Rev. Wrights's church.
Realize that anyone who does not buy in to his message is painted in the terms he describes by his supporters
Just read these blogs........
You can keeps those words to define yourself. Don't try to smear others with your sh*t.
We are GOOD people in Pennsylvania. Not gun-toting-mex-hating-xenophobic-church-crutching-frustrated-bitter-hicks unfairly protrayed by this arrogant senator from Illinois. Yes, like the rest of America, we are experiencing the effect of bad economy, high fuel cost, high cost of living and unemployment. We are struggling. Inspite that, we have unrelenting HOPE, and hardly desperate to resort to guns. We are civilized. We use our Church for divine guidance, and not crutches to our pain and frustrations. We are proud people.
At our expense, you used our burden to make a political point . The audacity ! And what HOPE are you spreading, Sir ? We welcome you with open arms, and in return you sold our dignity for 30 pieces of gold.
Did you swayed the Californians as our expense ? Are we equivalent to 30 piece of gold, a negotiable instrument to pander you kind of HOPE ?
How dare you SENATOR OBAMA, how dare you !.
Part of the problem could be your profile name. Is that supposed to be shorthand for "angry forever"? Many people from PA didn't take his comments like you did. Sounds like you were never gonna support Obama anyway and just need a reason to bash him.
most of us took his comments in a very negative way. sorry!!
Sounds BITTER to me!!!
Bitter, and in serious denial.
Strange how you heard something so different. I heard him say that politicians have been promising economic benefits for decades and because those promises are never fulfilled, people become bitter and will then vote on the wedge issues fed them that they know they can impact.
I am one of those bitter people I am so tired of the promises of the Bush/Clintons/Bush .. and now you want another Clinton? They gave us NAFTA, Welfare "reform", and myriad other issues that hurt the American worker.
I am bitter and I am tired of being spoken to as an idiot child by these politicians. For once we have someone who will speak the truth and trust the intelligence of the American people. THANK YOU OBAMA!!
How dare you show yourself for the stupid person you are? What Obama said was true and I sense FAKE OUTRAGE on your path.
This is a controversy? If it is a controversy, somebody gag me. What NONsense!!!
Hillary is a liar, an elitist, and an idiot. If Obama were to go negative he would bury her. Obama did not talk about her LIE and the Colombian trade deals that her husband got money for. This is utterly ridiculous!
...part.
Been having a lot lately.
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Posted April 11, 2008 | 11:17 PM (EST)