Word: scrantons
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...Still unknown is whether Scranton's turnaround will benefit Obama. Will residents identify with his campaign platform of hope and change? Or will they agree with McCain, who wants to depict Obama as an out-of-touch elitist? In the end, it may come down to religion. The city is heavily Catholic, and in a recent Quinnipiac poll Obama trailed McCain statewide among Catholic voters, 36% to 51%. Obama also trailed McCain among all voters in northeastern Pennsylvania (39% to 50%). The pollsters, however, began conducting the poll before Obama put Biden, a Catholic, on the ticket. Doherty, a Democrat...
...course, for those Americans whose TV viewing extends beyond coverage of the Presidential campaign, Scranton is famous for an entirely different reason: it's home to the fictional Dunder Mifflin paper company, whose employees' travails form the basis of the hit NBC sitcom The Office. And that connection is a big reason why the people of Scranton aren't bitter at all; in fact, they're downright enthused. The local tourist bureau hosted a massive Office convention last October that officials said drew more than 10,000 fans of the show to this city of about 75,000; the Today...
...Mayor Chris Doherty, who just wrapped a public service announcement on littering, starring himself and Office actor Brian Baumgartner (accountant Kevin Malone), agrees the show has been great for tourism. "The stars are here all the time," he says. "It's a riot. They love it." And Scranton needs all the love it can get: after the coal mining industry started to dry up in the 1950s - around the time Biden's family left for the greener pastures of Delaware - it fell into a deep depression and has only just begun to crawl out. "When the city started to decline...
...people. The city web site boasts about recent infusions into its downtown from companies like drug maker Sanofi Pasteur, which now occupies space in a former Woolworth department store. Last year, the Yankees moved its AAA farm team here from Columbus, Ohio; in May, Money magazine named Scranton one of the ten fastest-growing real estate markets in the country. This growth is proof of Doherty's mantra: If you make it nice, they will come. The mayor and other local leaders have funneled millions of dollars into the city's parks and local historical attractions and museums, betting that...
...Biden, although he has lived in Delaware for decades, his roots in Scranton are real. His relatives, the Finnegans, live near Doherty, who says he's met Biden many times. Talking to a local newspaper reporter recently, the vice-presidential candidate was quick to mention his connections to the town, including his Scranton friends Larry, Charlie and Tommy. After he got the nomination, he said his mother told him, "Joey, everybody in Scranton will be so proud." It's exactly the reaction Barack Obama is hoping...