Flashy isn't Democrat Bob Casey's style, and that might be why he so easily defeated Sen. Rick Santorum.
Up against a conservative firebrand, Casey proved the perfect foil with his calm demeanor and what helped get him recruited in the first place, his opposition to abortion.
It also didn't hurt that the 46-year-old state treasurer, son of the late Gov. Robert P. Casey, entered the race with a name known to most Pennsylvanians.
A Catholic who served a year teaching school with the Jesuit Corps in Philadelphia's inner city, Casey reached out to voters who revered his father for pushing through stringent state laws restricting abortion and also to those angered that the Democratic Party would recruit an anti-abortion candidate.
I think any number of candidates could have knocked off Santorum, but not many could have done it so convincingly.
Re: Casey proved perfect foil for incumbent
Didn’t some of us here at KP say exactly the same thing many months ago – that Casey’s calm and deliberate demeanor would be the perfect contrast to Santorum’s emotionalism?
Re: Casey proved perfect foil for incumbent
Don’t underestimate the magic of the Casey name. When I was electioneering up in Tioga County one little old lady confessed to me that even though she was a Republican she was thinking of voting for Casey because she liked his dad so much. I told her that I’d met Casey in person (true) and that he was indeed just like his dad; she seemed reassured and I’m sure we scored another one. I will probably rot in hell for this.
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