I’ve been in Denver since Friday and I have to admit that throughout the weekend I’ve felt a bit out of sorts. Despite the fact that everyone around me is a fellow political junkie in one way or another, I felt largely disconnected from them. Sunday night was the first time I really began to get a good impression of the PA delegation; we’re finally all in one hotel, and as you might expect, some of these folks make strange bedfellows.

Sitting at the Marriott’s bar, I began to see some familiar faces, and some that were nearly strangers. I say nearly because there’s something about Pennsylvanians that I often recognize from a distance. I’m not sure if it’s a shared history, or a shared present, but there’s a bond among us.  read more »

As the respective party conventions draw closer, we’ve turned our attention to the infamous Veepstakes. Every day we’re hearing more about the “safe” picks and who brings more to each ticket. Governor X shores up McCain’s conservative base, Governor Y helps Obama win in the midwest. Boring!

Let’s throw away reality for a moment, because honestly, it gets boring pretty quickly. It’s much more fun to talk about who’d really shake up the race rather than just be Surrogate-in-Chief. We’re not looking for the next Rockafeller here; I’d rather think about the next Cheney. Who’s got the cajones to follow that guy?  read more »

Last week, I said Hillary Clinton’s got the message that speaks most directly to Pennsylvanians. Even within the past week, the economy has continued to destabilize, revealing malfeasance by corporate actors and mismanagement by government regulators. We’ve seen this before – as our economy transitioned from a manufacturing base, Pennsylvanians were disproportionately left behind.

As a result, we’re skeptical of Wall Street magic and sky-high promises. So Hillary’s speaking the right language, and this week Obama started as well. A bunch of reporters picked up on his shift from talking to Pennsylvanians about lofty dreams to talking about more traditional issues.  read more »

Let’s face it – Barack Obama has run a great campaign, inspired a lot of people, and will probably win the nomination. So why is Hillary Clinton doing so well in Pennsylvania?

In short, it’s the economy, stupid. Much of Pennsylvania was once supported by enormous manufacturing operations who supported entire regions of workers. Pennsylvanians still haven’t fully recovered economically from the effects globalization had on manufacturing hubs.  read more »

Now that leaders in Harrisburg have publicized their annual legislative agenda, the big question is “what will actually get done”?

Every January, we see these stories about the ambitious and packed legislative agenda. And then every December, we realize that nothing got done. So does this agenda matter? I don’t think so and I’m inclined to believe that millions of Pennsylvania voters agree. The state legislature is widely (and correctly) seen a dysfunctional body who spend a great deal of time and taxpayer money accomplishing little.  read more »

One big question I have this week is whether we’ll see any disposal of the proverbial “trash” – news that no one wanted to release last week or next because it is embarrassing to them.

In this business, one oft-used tool is to “throw out the trash” at a time when reporters and the public are paying the least attention. That generally happens in one of two ways. First, when the media and the public are too busy paying attention to something far more important than your garbage. Or, when they’re too busy worrying about themselves…a weekend or better yet, a holiday.

So during a week like this with a mid-week major holiday, I half-expect a bomb of a story to drop unceremoniously on our laps, right when reporters are traveling home to their families and press secretaries are off for the holiday and can’t answer questions. Is anyone going to take out the trash? We’ll find out Wednesday afternoon.