Obama's going to have a cakewalk in the state during the general election compared to the primary. McCain can't muster the organization or the money to contest PA the way Clinton did (keep in mind that PA was by no means a landslide victory for Clinton)
McCain had a chance in 2000 when he was a maverick and a moderate. He's neither of those things anymore. He's been sucking up to the religious right and beating the conservative rhetoric drum non-stop through the primaries and he's shown no sign of meaningful change since he secured the nomination - which was 4 months ago, btw!
To call him a maverick is a joke. As much as I hate the cliche Obama is the 'change' candidate. He's the outsider. He's the breath of fresh air. McCain's been in Washington for 25 years. How exactly is he going to 'change' the place he's spent the last quarter century?
The problem is that the majority of the public still see McCain as the moderate and maverick in the race. Sure, people on here see him as Bush II, but when he's out attacking the administration on Katrina, campaigning on climate change and the like, it's hard to say he's a cookie cutter Bush II candidate, even if he has moved right recently.
Obama is no more of a "change" candidate as McCain is. He's spent his entire life in politics and is a product of the Chicago machine. He may be a Washington outsider, but he's hardly a new comer when it comes to politics. He's played the same dirty, corrupt political game that anyone else has played, and maybe even more so if you look at the guys he's connected with. McCain's spent his life fighting to "change" things, while Obama has spent his life voting with his party in just about everything. If anything, McCain has shown he has the ability and capacity to change things, while Obama seems to be hoping the Democrats can get a filibuster proof majority in the upcoming elections so he can push through his change agenda. How exactly will Obama "change" Washington when he hasn't changed anything in his life. At least McCain has a record of attempting to work across party lines for change. That can't be said about Obama. You can say "I am change" all you want, but it won't convince me that you are when your record says something totally different.
It's no more a joke to call McCain a maverick is to say Obama can actually bring change. Yes, McCain has been sucking up to the religious right because he knows he'll need their support in this election just like Obama sucked up to the far anti-war left and sucked up to people like Rezko, Wright and Aires when he was running for political office in Chicago. It would be foolish to alienate them if either wants to win.
You're also falling for this myth that McCain will be severely disadvantaged in fundraising and simply won't be able to compete, which is false. If you look at May's fundraising numbers, the RNC + McCain are even or slightly ahead of Obama + DNC. He'll have an advantage, but some of you and others are under the impression that he'll be able to advertise and stump in all 50 states and McCain won't be able to keep up. The GOP will have plenty to go around this cycle, which I guess will surprise a lot of you.
FWIW, I do believe Obama has the advantage in Pennsylvania at this moment, but in no way will he have a "cakewalk" come November.
