Check your hypotheses about PA and the "Reagan" Democrats and about expecting Obama to do better than he did. All the pundits are stating that Obama has to find the way to connect with blue-collar ethnic voters and practically speaking they are right but in a different sense that's just continuing the disastrous downhill course the party and the country has been in since Reagan.
It's quite disingenuous to critique Obama for not doing better with that voting group when the Clinton's cynical and selfish campaign turns on the "permission switch" to energize that group's negative tendencies towards him; i.e. he's an elitist(SF bitter), he's a black radical (Rev. Wright), he's the kind of radical that cost us the Vietnam War (Ayers), don't forget he may be a radical Muslim (last minute Osama ad), and finally Big Dawg's "Obama played the race card on us!"
Yes, we may need the Reagan Dems to win this thing but pandering to them as if they are the true fount of all practical political wisdom (Chris Matthews)is just the kind of crap that's destroying our country. Be honest, Rove knew and the Clintons are learning that it's a good strategy to run as the War President and that voting group is most responsive to the xenophobia that got us in to Iraq and the saber-rattling that will get us into Iran. They are often more concerned about guns, gays, and immigrants than their own economic self-interest (Thomas Frank, What's The Matter With Kansas) and when they may be on the verge of outgrowing their prejudices, along come the Clintons to pull them back down into the mire.
If you've watched John Adams on HBO, it is obvious that Washington, Adams, Jefferson, and even Hamilton were all elitists. They led the crowd, they didn't pander to it. We should not play into that defeatist game either by catering to the least intellectually able amongst us. The reason why we are not coming to grips with the Torture issue, the Wiretapping issue, etc is that the Blue Dog Dems who represent the majority that gave HRC the primary know that a majority of their constituents actually accept the "necessity" of the torture and wiretapping.
If we urge Obama to be more like Hillary and to position himself to connect to this least competent element, we will lose no matter what we may gain politically. There comes a time when an elite must lead, and this is it. Immodest to say, but we are the elite: we opposed the war from the start, we saw the blind alley it would draw us into, we sensed the torture that was uncovered at Guantanamo and in Iraq, we opposed it and we don't let xenophobia nor homophobia nor latent bigotry deter us from seeking health insurance for all of our fellow citizens.
Enough pandering to the pundits and the least able among us. Obama has this contest wrapped-up. When the final touchdown is scored in Denver that will be all that matters. Then we can show the Clintons the door along with all their sorry old politics and tell them to not let it hit them on the way out. We can win this without compromise and provide leadership that leads, not that panders to the sad prejudices of a bygone era. And if the Clintons manage to steal the nomination then Obama should run as an Independent and let HRC and McCain split the vote of those who prefer the sad darkness of their familiar caves!