Obama Changes Approach to Reach Blue-Collar Voters in Pennsylvania

Sen. Barack Obama responds to questions during a town hall meeting at Dunmore Community Center in Scranton, Pa. (By Alex Wong -- Getty Images)

"President Clinton and Senator Clinton, either in terms of campaigning or governing, have been in this state for 15 years," said Sen. Robert P. Casey Jr. (D-Pa.), who endorsed Obama last week and has accompanied him during much of his campaign through the state. "Hillary Clinton chaired health-care hearings in 1993. She has a good base here, but I think we can cut into it."

Casey's endorsement was one of a couple of recent developments that might indicate a shifting landscape. Another was the registration of 102,000 new voters and 133,000 party switchers as Democrats, a possible indication that Obama's efforts to register college students, Republicans and independents may be paying off.

To win in the state, Obama will probably need to run up big totals in and around Philadelphia, in the Lehigh Valley and in south-central Pennsylvania. Casey's support could help among more conservative Democrats, particularly in the Scranton and Wilkes-Barre region, where his family is a fabled political brand.

On his tour, Obama has infused his stump speech with references to the economic woes that have beset communities across this state. At town hall meetings in Wilkes-Barre and Scranton, Obama spoke of "wages and income that have flat-lined. You are paying more for everything from college to health care to a gallon of milk to a gallon of gas. It's hard to make ends meet."

He staged a news conference in the freezing drizzle at a biofuels station, drawing attention to high gas prices and the U.S. dependence on foreign oil. Two of his three TV ads target the special interests' grip on the political process. Again and again, he reminded crowds: "We've got to change how business is done in Washington. I'm a practical guy. I just want to solve problems."

Corey D. O'Brien, a Lackawanna County commissioner and Obama backer, had urged the candidate for a month to visit Wilkes-Barre to introduce himself to voters there. In a lengthy question-and-answer session after his opening remarks, Obama fielded queries about his name, his childhood ambitions, and his position on gun rights. O'Brien looked thrilled.

"As Senator Clinton says, this is Hillary country," he said. "People need to get to know him. But I predict that when they do, he'll do very well."