NEW CASTLE, Pa. - To get an idea of the skepticism Sen. Barack Obama faces in Pennsylvania's Democratic primary, listen to Joe Hasson, who was tidying up the cab of his pickup truck while fellow workers finished smoothing a new section of sidewalk along Taylor Avenue.
"I'll probably vote for Hillary Clinton - she's got more experience," Hasson, 50, said last week. Plus, he said, he did not feel comfortable with Obama "after that pastor and stuff," referring to anti-white and anti-American remarks by the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., Obama's former minister.
The outcome of the April 22 primary will be determined in large measure by how well Clinton can retain the support of white working-class men, who have been a key part of her winning coalition in other states - and who support her so far in Pennsylvania polls.
Many voters interviewed in New Castle last week said they were comfortable with Clinton, a familiar figure whose husband's presidency is remembered fondly. They were less certain of Obama.
With the exception of the Virginia and Wisconsin primaries in mid-February, Clinton has enjoyed a decisive edge among working-class white men, estimated at nearly a quarter of the nation's electorate.
In the last two big-state primaries, on March 4, Clinton bested Obama among non-college-educated white men by 35 points in Ohio and by 20 in Texas, according to exit polls.
Many Democrats, particularly the superdelegates who are expected to decide the nomination, are keeping an anxious eye on the trends, because working-class white voters could be crucial in battleground states in the general election, and the candidate able to win them could be the stronger nominee.
Blue-collar men, the key to Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal coalition, became "Reagan Democrats" in the 1980s, putting Republican Ronald Reagan in the White House. Bill Clinton won them back in 1992, but two years later they were the "angry white males" who gave the GOP control of Congress.
"The blue-collar vote has been up for grabs for 30 years, and it is the bulk of the Democratic base in Pennsylvania," said James Lee, president of Susquehanna Polling & Research in Harrisburg.
His polls and surveys by other organizations have found Clinton leading by double digits in Pennsylvania, in part because of her advantage among white working-class men.
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"What didn't you like about the Clintons - peace or prosperity?" asked Chris DeJoseph, owner of a small party-supply business who was part of the breakfast crowd at Hudson Lunch, a diner downtown on East Washington Street. "It's about time we come into the 21st century and elect a woman president."
Gary Pezzuolo, 50, a contractor who builds commercial and residential projects, finds the economy scary. Diesel for his three dump trucks costs about $4.25 a gallon.
"It's hard keeping up when your fuel costs double and your rates are the same as they were 10 years ago," said Pezzuolo, who is also a supervisor in nearby Mahoning Township. He said he was inclined toward Hillary Clinton because things were good under President Clinton.
As for Obama, Pezzuolo said, "I don't think he has the experience to get us out of every mess we're in."
Many people said they were wary of Obama.
"I don't care for him - I think he's arrogant," said Vito Yeropoli, 34, an account manager with a wireless-phone company. "I like Hillary. When you ask her a question about a problem, you get a plan. She'll give some kind of a solution."
Obama, he said, talks theoretically.
Yeropoli also was put off by Wright's comments, which he called "hate speech."
more....
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/front_page/20080330_Winning_over_white__blue-collar_men_is_key_to_Pennsylvania_s_Democratic_primary.html
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