Governor Rendell: Don't believe in these polls PA. will be tight

[bigdarryl]

That's what he said on Rachel Meddow show

[THUNDER HANDS]

1. i'm sure he has no reason to exaggerate

i mean, I'm sure he'd be totally happy with his state being ignored.

[GarbagemanLB]

2. What exactly would you expect him to say? "Obama is unbeatable. No need to worry."??

[AlCzervik]

3. Rendell---"Go out and vote!"

[Bicoastal]

4. I'm starting to wonder what he actually knows that would prompt him to say this...

...I mean, has he given a reason, besides "Central Pennsylvanians don't like black people?"

[justiceischeap]

5. Nope, he actually gave reasons

He said that the "spread the wealth" meme is working on soft democrats and that McPalin is spending so much time in PA that he's thinking about charging them a state tax. Their appearances are actually re-energizing their base.

Being a former resident of PA, the middle of the state of some pockets of Central PA, are very racist. One town I lived in held the headquarters for PA's KKK. I lived a couple of houses away from their 18yo grand wizard.

[writes3000]

6. Yep, central PA has a real KKK presence.

But I expect Philadelphia to come on strong for Obama.

And I expect Pittsburgh to do better for us than expected.

[Bicoastal]

Right, but those aren't reasons why the polls should be disbelieved...

...do those "soft democrats" and KKK members not show up in polls or something?

McCain's been there for a week, and all he's done is move Obama's average from around +11% to around 9%. He may get Obama down to 7% by next week, but that still qualifies as a huge win for Obama.'

I think he's just making sure everyone in Philly and Pittsburgh gets out the vote, I really do.

[justiceischeap]

12. Take the soft Dems for example

They show up in the RV (registered voters) numbers and possibly the LV (likely voters) numbers and then for the reasons Rendell gave, "spread the wealth" plus the soft Dems can or may be racist goes against us. That's how.

[ShadowLiberal]

7. Most PA insiders on both sides insist the race is tighter then the polls show

Republicans insist Obama's lead here is at best for him only half of what the polls are currently showing now.

At the same time though, the insiders, even republican ones, all agree that Obama has at the very least a small lead.

Republican insiders also believe that if they can't cut down Obama's margin of victory in Philadelphia to something like 300,000 that they can't win the state (I forget the exact number, it could be lower). Kerry carried Philadelphia by 400,000 votes, and won the state by something like 160,000 votes I think. Because of this some republicans are trying to scare voters in Philly away from the polls by spreading false rumors.

I say all of this as a PA resident to.

[iceman66]

17. How much coverage are all the McCain / Palin appearances

getting in the local media, and how favorable is the coverage?

Do you think McCain is succeeding in chipping away at Obama's lead? As a resident, what is your gut feeling?

[Abugface]

8. There is a reason McCain and Palin are spending so much time in PA, and ...

it's not because they like the scenery. Rendell is correct, PA will be close. There's been a surge in the purchase of white sheets in rural PA, and not for Halloween costumes - central/rural PA ain't Philly or Pittsburgh.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

11. So what is he doing to help Obama out. Is he just sitting around whining, or he is helping?

[Jersey Devil]

16. They are in PA because there is no other way for them to win without it

and not, imo, because they have some secret poll that shows it close.

If they lose PA and Obama wins NM and CO then he does not need Ohio or Florida or VA or NC or IN or anything else. If he takes VA or OH then it is all over even without NM or CO.

In short, McCain is in PA because he has to be there or he loses - period.

[alcibiades_mystery]

18. Really? What's the reason they're spending so much time in Iowa?

Sometimes, they're just dumb, you know?

Why did the Republicans cut ad buys in PA by 11% this week, while McCain increased his by only 1.7%? Because they know something?

Obama wins PA by 8-10%.

[Honeycombe8]

9. He should know. Isn't Obama there now? AND McCain. Oooooh. The tension. nt

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

10. I don't trust Ed Rendell at all. He's not doing anything to ensure the integrity of these elections.

Fuck him!

[fujiyama]

13. It'll likely be tighter than polls are showing

Rendell is doing the right thing in making sure people don't get complacent. Since early voting in PA is difficult, lines in Obama strongholds will likely be long, the weather will suck, the last thing we need is people figuring "ah, he's got a lead anyways. My vote won't matter. He'll be fine", only to realize a few hours later that the state's 21 votes went to McCain.

Plus, I think Rendell knows the state. He's won by a decent margin both times. And Obama won't do quite as strong in some places as Casey did when he whooped Santorum's ass.

But Obama will win. And he may over perform the others in Philly and the surrounding suburbs.

[jefferson_dem]

14. Why no early voting in PA?

It would be great to bank some early votes for Barack. Tuesday's going to be off the chain in PA!

[Uzybone]

15. Obama will do bettere than Kerry in PA

Book it. Rendell has to keep saying it'll be tight so that everyone goes out in force and vote on 11/4. PA doesn't have early voting so its vital that we GOTV on 11/4.

[alcibiades_mystery]

19. Ding ding ding

The correct reading is, not surprisingly, the non-paranoid reading.