Pennsylvania Senate Race

This intriguing battle between Senator Rick Santorum (R) and Bob Casey, Jr. (D) presents one of the best pick-up chances for the Dems this year. Santorum has been trailing in the polls almost from the start, but that doesn't mean this thing is over. I've mentioned before that Casey is a pro-life, pro-war, pro-gun Democrat. In other words, he's far, far apart from the majority of his party. As a result, there is an understandable reticence amongst many Pennsylvania Democrats regarding his candidacy. Add to that the fact that Santorum is historically a strong closer, and you understand why this race is far from done.

I'm bringing this up now because I finally got around to watching last Sunday's Meet the Press, which featured a debate between Santorum and Casey. Keep in mind: having lived in Pennsylvania and having been represented by Santorum, I have some knowledge of the man. I quite honestly can't stand him. I think he's a horrible Senator, and I think he's far outside the Pennsylvania political norm. That said, Casey was so horrifically BAD on Meet the Press, and has run such a lackluster campaign, that I probably would sit this one out instead of voting for him.

I'm not going to give a play-by-play of the discussion, but I will give general impressions. Casey is not particularly articulate. He misses the point a lot. As an example, he spent a significant amount of time haranguing Santorum for disagreeing with Dick Cheney on whether to sanction Iran, and suggesting that Santorum would never tell Cheney to his face that the two were in disagreement. Santorum sliced him up by pointing out that he had stood up and discussed the topic at length on the floor of the Senate, so his feelings weren't exactly hidden. Throughout the whole exchange, I found myself saying "what the heck is the point, here?" This was not an uncommon position for me to be in. Quite frankly, these are both horrible candidates. The people of Pennsylvania deserve better. Unfortunately, the DSCC failed to find a stronger, better candidate, and instead the people of Pennsylvania will be stuck either with the incumbent nutcase or the dry, boring as Al Gore on dramamine challenger.

This is the first prediction on a close race that I'm going to throw out there, and I'm coming down on the side of Casey. Santorum will make this interesting, but Casey will hang on for a narrow victory in this race that the Democrats need if they have any hope of taking control of the Senate.