He was on the short list in 2000, but passed over because of opposition from social conservatives. Will 2008 be Tom Ridge’s year? Or is the former Pennsylvania governor destined to be passed over again?

Political insiders close to John McCain said the presumptive Republican presidential nominee would like to pick Ridge — his friend, national co-chairman of his campaign and a fellow Vietnam veteran — to be his vice presidential running mate.

Analysts and party insiders said Ridge would almost certainly guarantee a victory in Pennsylvania, which is viewed as a must-win state for McCain.

Hopefully democrats will pick up on the need for cooperation throughout all levels of the 2008 elections. It would be nice, but I won’t be holding my breath.
The national Democratic Party will suffer if it focuses too much on the state’s urban cores, while the GOP is coordinating in potential Democratic strongholds like Northeast PA.

The state and national Republican Party will open campaign offices throughout Pennsylvania in July, including one today in Luzerne County.

Pennsylvania Victory, a state organization operating on federal party funds, signed an agreement with congressional candidate Chris Hackett on Wednesday to sublease 936 square feet of the 1,183-square-foot office space.  read more »

A Reading school board member says he doesn’t think it was legal for the district to waive fees associated with a Barack Obama rally at the high school.

William F. Cinfici says waiving the fees associated with the April rally represents an in-kind donation to the Democrat’s campaign. He says that’s illegal and unfair to taxpayers.  read more »

What do you all think of this “unity tour”? Will it make a difference in your vote or were you going to vote Democratic either way?

Barack Obama returns to Pennsylvania Thursday morning for an invitation-only “economic competitiveness summit” on the campus of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.

Obama, the likely Democratic nominee, has been touring the country and trying to show working-class voters he not only gets how they are struggling but also has solutions to make things better.

The next day, Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton will begin their “Unity Tour,” to help repair some of the rifts from the primary and get Clinton backers on board with Obama.

Doesn’t this guy have any fresh content?

Picking up where Barack Obama’s Democratic rival left off, Republican John McCain sought Wednesday to cast the Illinois senator as out of touch with ordinary Americans.

McCain made the claim during his first general election campaign stop in Pennsylvania and promised to return often, reminding state voters again and again of Obama’s remarks about ‘‘bitter’‘ Pennsylvanians.

‘‘We are going to travel all over the state of Pennsylvania, and we are going to go to the small towns in Pennsylvania and I am going to tell them I don’t agree with Sen. Obama that they cling to their religion and the Constitution because they are bitter,’‘ McCain said.  read more »

Obama represents a radical change in direction for the country – of course, his ideas and platform, but also the question of race. Despite the boos we heard, Ed Rendell was right in saying that many Americans still aren’t comfortable voting for a black man.

The presidential election will be about many things. Mostly, it will be about Barack Obama.

Millions of Americans are ready for change. But many aren’t comfortable with the man who’s calling for it, at least not yet.  read more »

I thought Jason Altmire had chosen already, honestly, but I guess not. The sooner the better at this point – I’d like to know where PA’s uncommitted delegates stand! My guess is that they’re all leaning toward Obama at this point but not committing out of deference to Clinton.

Sen. Barack Obama’s campaign is urging uncommitted members of Congress to formally endorse the Democratic front-runner as voters in Montana and South Dakota head to the polls so that the Illinois senator can clinch the presidential nomination Tuesday night.  read more »

John McCain has a new ad running in Pennsylvania focusing on his big ideas for the country, including corporate accountability and healthcare. Oddly, the ad forgot some punctuation both on screen (acceptable in this context) and in narration (unacceptable). Energy is “cleaner cheaper” and taxes are “simpler fairer” under McCain. Don’t forget it.

(via Josh)