Reading Between the Lines at the P-G

Check this out from the P-G. Seems that even the P-G thinks we have a race in the PA-4 district.

While the article was generally neutral, I'm thinking I saw something else hiding bewteen the lines in Gary Rotstein's story.

Take a look at the photos the paper used. One shows Hart running alone on a street, the other shows Altmire in the middle of a group of people in what looks like a restaurant. The caption for the Hart photo reads:

U.S. Rep. Melissa Hart runs to a house while campaigning door-to-door in Shaler on Tuesday. A campaign worker found someone home who wanted to talk with the congresswoman. [emhasis added]

While the caption for the Altmire photo reads:

Jason Altmire talks with supporters while campaigning in New Castle, Lawrence County, at a fund-raiser for Gov. Ed Rendell.

I gotta say Missy looks a little frantic in that picture. I mean, a campaign worker "found someone...who wanted to talk" to her - and that was enough to make her break out into a sprint? Were there so few people who wanted to talk to her that she had to run to those her staff actually found? Anyway, it looks like she's working up a sweat running to the person who wants to talk with her while Altmire's confidently grinning amidst his supporters at a Rendell fundraiser.

Interesting, pictures doncha think?

Considering that the Rendell lead is being used to help out other campaigns in the state, I can see why Altmire's grinning - and maybe why Hart's breaking a sweat.

Anyway, back to the text. It begins with this:

At the start of the new millennium, Melissa Hart seized for Republicans the congressional district north of Pittsburgh that Democrats had long controlled. In two successive races, the energetic conservative showed no sign of giving it up.

Democrats see the 4th Congressional District seat as ripe for retaking, however, through a combination of anti-incumbent sentiment among voters and a capable candidate in Jason Altmire, 38, aggressive, politically moderate and better-funded than his predecessors.

And some more details:

The race pits two Washington-experienced, relatively young candidates who have to win over the district's many blue-collar voters with socially conservative views. The Democratic registration advantage of 55,000 voters contrasts with increasingly Republican voting tendencies in the district, which includes northern Allegheny County, where both candidates live. It includes some or all of Beaver, Butler, Lawrence and Mercer counties to the west and north and Westmoreland County to the east.

Ms. Hart, 44, who served a portion of the district in the state Senate for 10 years, won her three congressional elections by gaining 59 percent or more of votes over Democrats Terry Van Horne in 2000 and Stevan Drobac in 2002 and 2004. She stands out as Pennsylvania's first Republican congresswoman and a strong voice on conservative issues, generally praising President Bush.

It's interesting that the extent of Hart's criticism of Bush is this:

"I think he's probably made some mistakes, but I think everyone does," she told one person in Shaler when door-knocking last week, winning him over with forthrightness, even though he disagreed with her about the president and with some of her staunchest anti-abortion views.

And how is this "forthrightness?" She only said that Bush had only "probably" made some mistakes. Then there's this nugget:

Ms. Hart has sought to use Mr. Altmire's more recent Washington experience as a negative, using "lobbyist" as a disparaging term for him. He contends there was nothing wrong with the job he did for UPMC for seven years after leaving congressional work, but he would be glad for a chance to debate the role of special interests in Washington. Ms. Hart has yet to agree to any of several debate opportunities suggested by groups within the district.

I'm thinking that the last thing the party of Abramhoff and the K-Street Project would want to do is to use the term "lobbyist" as a criticism. But that's just me.

Part of the enthusiasm held by Democrats throughout the district and in Washington is based on a poll done last month by a firm hired by the Altmire campaign, suggesting he was behind Ms. Hart among likely voters by a 48-44 percent margin. It helped lead the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee to place the 4th District on a short "emerging races" list of viable challengers to Republican incumbents, which, Mr. Altmire said, has led to financial contributions from national sources.

When asked what she thought of the chances the poll was accurate, Ms. Hart smiled and said, "Zero." She has done her own polling, declining to release details, but said they showed her with a double-digit lead.

Which is, of course, why the DCCC is pouring money into the district - because that poll had "zero" chances of being accurate.

Still waiting to see the details of Melissa Hart's poll numbers. If she's got a double digit lead, then why is she running to talk to someone who wants to talk to her?

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