A funny thing happened on the way to crowning a Democratic candidate for president.
Pennsylvania.

That’s right. Don’t look now but your vote, at one point considered to be about as useful as the local weather forecast, now might mean something.

The common belief was that Pennsylvania’s April 22 presidential primary was too late, that the issue would be decided long before then.

And for the GOP, that might be the case. Arizona Sen. John McCain certainly seems to be well on his way to capturing the nomination, a plucky Mike Huckabee not withstanding.

Not so on the Democratic ledger. A crowded ballot has been winnowed away. John Edwards has pulled the plug on his candidacy.

That leaves Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama in hand-to-hand combat for the Democratic nomination.

Obama had a big weekend, sweeping a series of four primaries and caucuses.
Today all eyes will be on the Chesapeake region, as Clinton and Obama battle for votes in what is being referred to as the Potomac Primary, with contests in Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia. It looks like the makings of another big day for Obama and his message of “change.” Clinton, who reacted to the weekend setbacks by shuffling her key campaign staff, is holding out for a possible win in Virginia.

But the bottom line is that this contest looks certain to continue. There are very few big-state primaries between now and when Pennsylvanians go to the polls.
The delegate counts are impossibly close. There are those who believe the race could be decided by the so-called super-delegates, those who are not bound by the popular vote in their states.

Among them is Rep. Joe Sestak, D-7, of Edgmont. Count him in Clinton’s camp. He made that call last spring, saying he believes she has the experience necessary for the job.

Get ready to hear that image repeated over and over again in the next two months. It will be Clinton’s experience and ability to get the job done vs. Obama’s message of change and a new way of doing things in D.C.

Once considered an after-thought, Pennsylvania could now actually be a deciding voice in the race. And as usual, just as it has been in the past few presidential races, one of the keys will be those voters in the suburban Philadelphia counties.
Which means we likely will be getting more than one visit from both candidates.

Here’s a campaign slogan for the next two months: Obama, Clinton and Pennsylvania: Perfect together.