When addressing the crowd at the Clinton victory celebration Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell noted that Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter and U.S. Representatives Allyson Schwartz and Joe Sestak all demonstrated "Profiles in Courage" for backing Senator Hillary Clinton.

This is especially true of Mayor Nutter who, knowing that Senator Barack Obama would carry Philadelphia's black vote by overwhelming numbers, endorsed Clinton despite what was clearly pressure to do otherwise. Should Senator Clinton prevail, win the Democratic nomination and then the general election, Philadelphia will surely benefit from Nutter's steadfast support.

Voters in the Pennsylvania State Senate First District defied tradition and showed that they have had their fill of politicians with questionable ethics and those under federal investigation. They chose the relatively unknown Larry Farnese over machine politician and union leader John J. Dougherty to replace the retiring (and indicted) State Senator Vince Fumo.

It is political suicide for a politician to disparage Pennsylvania's large number of gun owners, church goers and blue collar middle class workers. Too many national politicians forget that Pennsylvania is a completely different state once you head west past Philadelphia and its suburbs. Should Obama win the Democratic Party nomination this comment will be the focus of the McCain campaign in Pennsylvania and across the nation's rust belt.

"You go into some of these small towns in Pennsylvania, and like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing's replaced them," Obama said. "And they fell through the Clinton Administration, and the Bush Administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not. And it's not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations."

Pennsylvania will be in play in the general election in November. Exit polls showed that a significant number of both Clinton and Obama supporters will either vote for Republican John McCain or stay home entirely on November 4, 2008 if their candidate is not the nominee of the Democratic Party. The ongoing battle between Clinton and Obama appears to be hurting the chance for a Democratic Party victory in the fall.

Americans are criticized for their lack of political involvement when it comes down to actually voting. Over 2 million Democrats voted in yesterday's primary, a record turnout. At least in Pennsylvania, voters will turn out if you get them invested in a candidate and his or her message. Give them a real choice and they'll turn out to vote. Give them one candidate who appears to have new, fresh ideas and a charismatic personality and another who has a real chance to become the nation's first female president and they'll really turn out to vote.

Predictions:

The Obama campaign maintains that their candidate should be the nominee since he will likely finish the primary season with more elected delegates and a larger number of total votes. The Clinton campaign maintains that their candidate is the only candidate who can win the general election since she has demonstrated that she can win the states that Democrats must win to secure the presidency.

If Clinton wins the democratic nomination, she will carry Pennsylvania fairly easily in November. If Obama wins the Democratic Party nomination, John McCain will make Pennsylvania a much closer race and can perhaps carry the state. One thing that would help Obama would be to select Governor Ed Rendell as his running mate. Rendell is also likely to be on Clinton's short list for vice president. She owes his after his steadfast support throughout the primary season.

What Do You Think

What do you think of the results of yesterday's Pennsylvania primary? What are your takeaways? What are your predictions for Pennsylvania in the fall? Share your thoughts in our comments section.