Well we’re living here in Allentown
And they’re closing all the factories down
Out in Bethlehem they’re killing time
Filling out forms
Standing in line.
-Billy Joel
Allentown
The way the McCain campaign sees it, the key to victory in the Keystone State is to sway blue-collar voters away from the Democratic Party. Those voters like a tough, patriotic, not-afraid-of-a-fight candidate, which is why so many of them voted for Hillary Clinton over Barack Obama during the Democratic primary in April. Obama’s record just wasn’t long enough compared to a former First Lady and current two-term senator, plus during the April 22 primary there was this question about Obama’s patriotism because he didn’t wear a flag lapel. I heard a lot about that during the AFL-CIO convention in Philadelphia during the spring.
John McCain fits the profile these voters like. McCain could float into any VFW or American Legion in Allentown, Scranton or Uniontown and feel right at home. Unfortunately, this group right now is shifting toward Obama as the economy continues its turn into the gutter.
And that’s why I think John McCain has scheduled a rally with Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin in Bethlehem for Wednesday (you can bet the Nest will be there keeping an eye on things). Not the crucial Philly ‘burbs in Montgomery or Bucks or Chester or Delaware counties, where McCain’s been hanging out lately, but the Lehigh Valley, formerly a thriving industrial region now struggling to continue in a post-industrial world. That’s interesting because the Lehigh Valley (Lehigh and Northampton counties) usually votes the same way the city of Philadelphia votes, and no one doubts Obama will carry Philadelphia overwhelmingly. Lehigh and Northampton counties have not gone Republican since George H.W. Bush defeated Michael Dukakis in 1988, but McCain must sense an opportunity there otherwise he’d be better off gathering a huge rally in places like Lancaster. What makes Bethlehem different from Lancaster, though, is the amount of blue-collar votes living in Bethlehem, and McCain’s putting his chips on blue to flip this state red.
