Bush giving up on Pennsylvania?

[DancingBear]

Listening to AAR news this morning - stated that Bush team now looking to concentrate efforts out west - in effect ceding PA to Kerry.

Anyone else here this?

PA people - is it believable?

[PCIntern]

1. Yes it is...

he has not one iota of a chance here. I've said this for 4 years - the animus from the minority community after FL is so great that it is absolutely not to be overcome. They are registering their dead cats to vote against him if they can. God bless them all...

That's why the mayor's race here in Philly was so critical that it didn't go to a so0-called liberal Repub. - they would have suppressed turnout. Also Rendell, though a verbal political liability, is guv and we're in good shape.

[liberal N proud]

3. Yah Hooo!

Can we get some help from PA in Ohio?
Anything will help here.

[59millionmorons]

2. Yes it's believable

I said back in April Bush has no chance here unless Philly and Alleghey/Pittsburgh fall off the map. Kerry will win Philly by 300,000 and he will win the state by 300,000. Just watch the results out of Philly and it will tell you how much Kerry wins the state by.

[cthrumatrix]

20. Jobs, jobs jobs..... are you listening Ohio?

[helpisontheway]

4. Good

Wasn't PA the state that he visited the most during his administration or was that Ohio. I think it was PA they said he had visited over 30 times or something....They were saying he thought he had a good chance there. I think he is focusing on shoring up Colorado now.........

[calimary]

5. No kidding?

That'd be neat!

I'd read something, months ago, in which someone in the Kerry campaign had said kkkarl rove ought not even to bother with Pennsylvania, because of Teresa Heinz Kerry. The presumption was that she carried such weight in that state, so well-loved because of all the work the Heinz Foundation had done for a long time throughout Pennsylvania to help people and causes and communities, that some referred to her as "Mother Teresa." After that, the state came into serious play, and I found myself wishing they hadn't counted their chickens too soon.

That'd also be neat because it helps level the playing field a little more in the PERCEPTION department. I think the Kerry campaign recently announced that it was regrouping from Virginia, and it was portrayed as them giving up on that state. This evens things up.

Furthermore, it's late in the game. Kerry's Virginia situation was awhile ago, back when bush had more momentum before the debates, I believe. It's not a good thing to have out there in the overall consciousness, especially now, when the fighting's really fierce. It'd be advantageous for our side to have it recognized that the bushies have had to regroup, and regroup this close to the finish line. And they sure don't want to start looking desperate or anything.

I hope it's true. Those electoral votes are crucial.

[johnnyrocket]

6. If PA was going to be close, our whole nation is in huge trouble.

Ohio is bad enough, that SHOULDN'T be a battleground, Kerry should have that sewed up.

[AlinPA]

7. Cheney is in W. PA today. (Saxonburg, Butler Co, near Pitt.)

[KellyPaDem]

8. Absolutely

I work at the Dem phone bank a couple hours a day. I always thought that polls taken here were way off. I really believe that Kerry is at least 7% up on Bush right now and on election day it will be around 12%. woo hoo

[secular_warrior]

9. This is very good for us. PA is a good indicator of Dem strength.

If the Dems were ever to lose PA it would be likely that we'd lose the election. It is our bellweather, just as OH is for the Repubs. If Bush can't win OH it is likely they will lose.

[PCIntern]

11. That's correct...

if PA were to be lost, you could just go to bed. It would be McGovern all over again.

[Pump Man]

10. Pennsylvania say good-bye to baby Bush

Sent Kerry campaign workers to Ohio. Bush was targeting PA in
case he would lose Florida or Ohio or both

[popstalin]

15. I remember

In the 2000 election having to wait in line for two hours to vote (I was still living in PA at that time). PA has been Dem the last 3 elections (I'm not sure what it was before that).

Now I'm in VA and wondering how long I'll have to wait in line this election.

Any truth to the rumors that VA could swing for Kerry?

[DancingBear]

27. I'm in Virginia as well - dspite the avatar

Kerry will pull BIG numbers in noVA - the question is can he position himself a la Warner in the rest of the state.

Right now, the state is VERY competitive. If (big if) he can convince the same "downstaters" that Warner did then it is indeed a horserace here.

[Richardson08]

12. Here is the link

President Bush appears to be conceding some ground in the hard-fought battleground of Pennsylvania, as the 2004 race, which has been fought in only a small number of states, narrows even further.

Bush has visited the Keystone State 39 times - more than any other state - but a White House source said he does not plan to return soon and Pennsylvania was not on a list of the President's top 10 advertising targets last month.

Campaign spokesman Scott Stanzel called talk of Bush's pulling out of Pennsylvania "a rumor" and stressed that travel planning is day-to-day.

"The President has visited the state of Pennsylvania over 30 times and we have tens of thousands of volunteers," Stanzel said. "Our campaign has a real opportunity to be victorious there on Nov. 2."

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/story/241607p-207221c.html

[Name removed]

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[NewYorkerfromMass]

29. Not necessarily. Look at this map of a tie

and just pick the decider

[olddem43]

14. Thanks, PA, for kicking his ass out. Now let's do Ohio

We need help here. Remember, if we win Ohio, we win it all.

[Renew Deal]

16. Here is a link

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/story/241604p-207221c.html

[helpisontheway]

17. Why does Kerry need Ohio

to win. Gore would have won without Ohio if the Bush brothers did not steal Florida.

[Name removed]

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[PCIntern]

24. I understand you think that's true

but I'm telling you that here on the ground, he's lost. doesn't matter how many of the rural folk make a big noise, the cities and the suburbs will carry Kerry thru the election. Our Senate race..that's another story for another time.

[Name removed]

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[PCIntern]

19. Let me just say

that it was activists like those here who pressed hard for Kerry here in PAright after it was clear that he was going to be nominated and pushed the minority community and others to register and get the hell out and vote this fraud out of the WH.

We will not stop working until election day and beyond if we need to. Never give up and never fall back and never ever surrender.

[DrFunkenstein]

22. Can Anyone Figure How This Relates To Cheney In Jersey?

I have to imagine these are just mind games, but I admit that I haven't thought through the chess yet.

[Name removed]

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[DemocracyInaction]

25. I think something else showed up on the radar

I understand that Bush had to do a sprint fast out to Colorado and perhaps Nevada because all of a sudden it is a tied race out there and not in the bag. Thus, certain midwest and east schedules would have had to be redone. Kerry has forced him to spend time and money on these western states. Soooo, whether there really is a translation that PA was given up or whether the appearances have trailed off while he tries to rescue the western states, I don't know. Deep inside I assume that the Democratic machine in PA under the Gov will pull a victory out for Kerry (however, I do know about three weeks ago Rendell was publicly bitching that Kerry was listening to his campaign staff instead of the on the ground politicians in PA). I don't think he would have bitched if things were totally coming up roses for John. Who knows anymore........

[RobinA]

28. I'm Skeptical

PA has been very close all along. Bush ads are all over TV, one right after the other. I guess I'll believe it if I see fewer ads, but I'm not sure what the reasonaing for his pulling out would be. My read if this were true would be that it's bad news for Kerry, because Bush may be deciding he doesn't need PA.