Talking Politics

Barack Obama is receiving endorsement from Senator Bob Casey Jr. of Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania is one of the few last states that has undecided superdelegates. Casey revealed his plans during a rally at the Soldiers and Sailors Military Museum and Memorial that was held in Pittsburgh this week.

After the announcement Senator Casey will join Senator Obama on his six-day bus trip across Pennsylvania, reports the Philadelphia Inquirer. Senator Casey’s support for Mr. Obama goes against the wave of support for Hillary Rodham Clinton among many of the state’s top Democrats, like Governor Ed Rendell, Rep. John P. Murtha and Mayor Michael Nutter of Philadelphia. The endorsement also comes at a crucial time for Obama, who has been trailing Clinton in Pennsylvania polls by double-digit margins but who also has bought at least $1.6 million worth of television advertising statewide in the last week, more than double Clinton’s expenditure.

Obama strategists hope that Casey can help their candidate make inroads with the white working-class men who are often referred to as “Casey Democrats.” This group identifies with the brand of politics Casey and his late father, a former governor, practiced - liberal on economic issues but supportive of gun rights and opposed to abortion. (Obama favors some gun-control measures and backs abortion rights.) Katharine Q. Seelye of The New York Times says it’s “do or die” for Mrs. Clinton in Pennsylvania.

And despite her early lead in the polls, Mr. Obama’s bus trip proves he’s not conceding the state. A strong showing, if not a victory, would keep his accumulated lead in delegates and in the popular vote more or less intact. And it would puncture Mrs. Clinton’s argument to superdelegates that he is a flawed candidate who cannot compete in the big closely contested states.