But not surprising. It’s Philadelphia, after all. Philly was inventing new modes of political corruption before Chicago was a trading post on Lake Michigan.
I wouldn’t sweat it. I don’t think Obama supporters will need ward leaders to prod them to the polls.
I read this this morning and I wouldn’t sweat it. Look change doesn’t come easy, but one thing we know Obama is good at is bringing it on. 
It should also be noted that besides the problem Obama has with how “street money” looks as far as corruption goes, oftentimes most of the money given to the ward leaders somehow finds its way into that ward leader’s pocket instead of being distributed to canvassers and street workers. Obama is rightly concerned with minimizing opportunities for the dirtier cogs in the Philadelphia Democratic machine to skim off the top.
And I need to add that, while I don’t like to stereotype fellow Democrats, you do not achieve a position like ward leader or ward heeler in Philadelphia without playing the game. The honest party members don’t get that high, because they won’t have the sponsorship or the support from the machine.
I despise machine politics…it’s the exact opposite of grassroot.
Yeah, it’s kind of a silly endorsement, but I like it none-the-less. . .
Steelers Owner Dan Rooney Endorses Obama
Football! Pffft! I’ll take Obama seriously when he gets endorsed by a bowling league! 
I did not know any local political parties in America still had such things as “ward heelers.” This article speaks of urban machine politics as pretty much a thing of the past.
It’s not really as silly as it looks to yinz on the outside. The Rooneys are VERY influential in western Pennsylvania. If it were Dan’s father Art who endorsed Obama, you might have about 30 people in Allegheny County voting for Clinton on the 22nd. Dan doesn’t have quite that much pull, but the family is still a Big Name in Steeler country an’ 'at.
Most people outside of Philadelphia and Chicago and NYC and Boston don’t realize that. It’s still alive and still dirty.
Rooney’s endorsement is huge in my opinion. They’ve had something perceived as much more substantial to offer people than any politician and for a very long time.
Exactly. People who don’t know western Pennsylvania aren’t going to get this…Rooney’s endorsement probably counts for more in Pittsburgh and the surrounding counties than Bob Casey’s does.
Wow, pretty cool, then! Ok, so I officially upgrade my enthusiasm from “silly” to WOO HOO!!!
Living in Lions country it’s hard to fathom an NFL owner family being so revered. Are the Rooneys really that influential and have they ever made a difference in past elections? Also, is Teresa Heinz Kerry still held in high esteem and does her endorsement have much influence?
The Rooneys are very influential and very progressive. I’m not sure they’ve ever endorsed a primary candidate before, though. I think Teresa is held in high esteem in Pittsburgh, anyway, because of her connection to the Heinz family.
Polls: Quinnipiac, with a sample of 2100 PA Dem voters (MOE 2.1%), has Hillary up 50-44, same as the week before. The poll was in the field Wednesday through Sunday; the Q-poll folks say the weekend’s polling wasn’t noticeably worse than Wednesday through Friday.
SurveyUSA has Clinton up 54-40 (MOE 3.9%), not a statistically significant change from last week’s 56-38. The poll was in the field Saturday through Monday.
Looks like ‘bittergate’ didn’t make a difference. File it under “things of greater interest to the chattering classes than to the voters.”
Who’s she endorsing?
Obama
But it did, the polls were all moving in his favor before that, the news were dominated by the fake Bosnian snipers, Mark Penn, and how Hillary had no chance of winning and should quit. Now its just bitter, bitter, bitter, clinging to guns and religion, etc.
Thing is, Hillary needed “bitter” to do more than halt his momentum; she needed it to knock him way down in the polls, both PA and nationally. Hasn’t happened, and I just saw a new poll today that has him up by 5 in Indiana.