Even his harshest political critics admit, albeit grudgingly, that Governor Ed Rendell is politically savvy.
His instincts were honed in the street fights of Philadelphia’s mayoral elections, and as a former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, Rendell has been privy to the inner workings of how a major party tries to move and shake voters to a particular electoral end.
Rendell carried a smile fueled by a 23 point poll lead into an Erie rally this week, but the sparkle in the eye came from more than his race alone.
“I’ve been around politics a long time,” he told the cheering crowd. “And there’s something in the air this time.”
It doesn’t take a mountain of polling data or Rendell’s experience to feel good about the Democrats’ chances this year.
On the federal level, you have a Republican president with a disapproval rate of over sixty percent.
Many political number crunchers say that the Democrats will regain control of the House this year and even the Senate is up for grabs.
In Pennsylvania, both Rendell and Democratic Senate Candidate Robert Casey, Jr. sport double digit leads, although incumbent Republican Senator Rick Santorum has been in Erie twice in three days, and Rendell opponent and NFL Hall-of-Famer Lynn Swann is talking about fourth quarter comebacks.
Rendell was so giddy about the turn of events that he predicted good election nights for the two democrats facing local lawmakers John Evans and Matthew Good, both of whom had to overcome voter anger over the aborted pay raise fiasco.
He even went so far as to say that with enough work in the last week that democratic challenger Steve Porter could surprise incumbent Representative Phil English in the northwestern Pennsylvania congressional district, to many the least likely seeming of all the possible outcomes.
At the end of the day Tuesday, the voters may prove the Governor to be more cheerleader than prophet, but the extent of Rendell’s comments are telling signs of the confidence being felt these days.
There is a rhythm to politics, an ebb and flow of status quo and marked change.
This year it seems there is little doubt that the tide is flowing from the right to the left, but what remains to be seen is just how many get washed away by what long time observers like Rendell sense in the wind.
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COMMENTS
I grew up in Erie as Democrat, have danced between in recent years to land on Independent. I hope that the Dems, if they are as victorious as they seem to be, recognize that this is more a vote of dislike of the incumbants, than some overwhelming endorsement of the Dem agenda, which for my tastes, lives way to the left. At least Bill Clinton tried to make it palletable by seeking some centrist positions.
La Chaim, Dems.
K. Reisenweber