Clinton, Obama show blue collar in Pennsylvania

[Omaha Steve]

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5ia4rAb4EIY89D5bPL6n9zBRCuFxg

2 hours ago

PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania (AFP) — Hillary Clinton downed a whiskey, while Barack Obama went bowling: in their populist panders, the White House rivals reflect the blue-collar tinge of Tuesday's Pennsylvania's primary.

The northeastern state's contest is a tale of two cities, suffering steeltown Pittsburgh and inner-city Philadelphia, plus a rural, conservative belt in between, making the state a microcosm of the US electoral map.

Blue-collar workers, feeling the pinch from the flight of working class jobs abroad and stalked by fears of recession, should be a natural fit for Clinton, who has a hold on lower income sectors of the Democratic electorate.

Obama meanwhile will pin his hopes on winning a huge majority in Philadelphia, which he filled with 35,000 supporters at a huge rally on Friday night, and the state's multitudes of students.

Clinton pounced on Obama's remarks in liberal California this month that some smalltown Americans were "bitter" and clung to God and guns, hoping to define her foe as an "elitist" aloof from Pennsylvanian workers.

Tuesday's election returns will be combed for evidence on whether 'bitter-Gate' hurt Obama, as the former first lady positioned herself as a champion of the working class.

FULL story at link.