Word: mccain
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...nickname Pennsyltucky. Clinton defeated Obama by racking up votes in this more culturally conservative region, including the suburbs of Pittsburgh, where Obama's ill-advised comments earlier this year about voters being "bitter" and clinging to "guns or religion" still elicit anger. It's also here where McCain will have to beat Obama by a huge margin to have any chance at pulling an upset. McCain has deployed running mate Palin, a favorite among conservatives, to make at least four appearances in the area this week...
...Philadelphia Daily News columnist John Baer set off a storm of angry letters last week when he wrote about the "Cracker Factor" in the campaign, saying McCain was angling to attract white voters who wouldn't vote for a black candidate...
...even if the West were to go for McCain, he would still need a strong turnout - though not necessarily an outright victory - in the suburbs of Philadelphia like Downingtown, Blue Bell, Yardley and Bensalem, which are traditionally Republican-friendly, but have been trending Democratic for a decade. Though he has spent most of the campaign appealing to the conservative base, McCain has been sure to highlight his maverick streaks to appeal to more moderate Republicans and independents in this area...
...Even in the more conservative Western areas of Pennsylvania, however, Democrats think they may draw enough voters to prevent a McCain sweep in the rural counties. If nothing else, the economy has neutralized many of the social issues that might have drawn some Democrats and independents to McCain. "When you look at a meltdown of the economy, people sort of suspend the question of whether there is a lock on a gun or something and really focus on what's happening here," said Clifford B. Levine, a Pittsburgh attorney and chairman of Obama's Western Pennsylvania steering committee...
...California or Virginia, and older and home to, percentage-wise, more native-born residents, folks who don't much like change," Baer wrote on Oct. 21. "And I believe there's a 'cracker factor' - we've never elected a black nonjudicial statewide candidate - and I believe that's why McCain is here." Former Gov. Tom Ridge, a McCain supporter, dismisses talk that the election will turn predominantly on race, saying Rendell and Murtha and others "characterize the state unfairly...