Closing a Deal in Pa.

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David Broder Talks to Voters in Pennsylvania

Repeating a tradition he's conducted for decades, The Post's political columnist speaks with voters in a key swing state.

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If McCain is losing potential votes for such reasons, Obama seems to have harnessed all the enthusiasm of his converted supporters. Yoga instructor George Cordantz, a Clinton supporter "right up till the convention," said, "I can't wait to vote for him. These last eight years have been terrible."

Debra Almack, an accountant and registered Republican, supported Mike Huckabee because "he is a person of character, not a politician." After reading Obama's memoir, "Dreams From My Father," she decided that he, too, "has a lot of character. I know he has some liberal ideas, but I really think he's pragmatic."

At the time of the primary, Obama was fighting two foes: Clinton and the voters' lack of familiarity with him. The Democratic National Convention and those ubiquitous ads have dealt with the latter problem, and Clinton herself was working the Philadelphia suburbs on behalf of Obama yesterday.

In early September, Obama opened a storefront headquarters not far from the library where I was interviewing voters -- one of three such offices in Montgomery County alone. The day after I visited, a platoon of New York volunteers was arriving to help local supporters canvass the same neighborhoods.

It's hard to see how John McCain can overcome these odds in Pennsylvania.

davidbroder@washpost.com