The Trail Less Traveled

President Clinton worked the western part of the state while his wife was in the eastern half at the front end of a six-week sprint until Pennsylvania’s primary.

“Hillary, Chelsea and I expect to cover Pennsylvania like a wet blanket between now and April 22,” he said.

Echoing his message that Hillary Clinton had to win the March 4 Texas and Ohio primaries to stay in the race — which she did — Bill Clinton said the New York senator needs to run up the score in Pennsylvania to build momentum in ensuing primaries, win the overall popular vote and secure the nomination over Illinois Sen. Barack Obama .

“I think she’s got to win a big victory in Pennsylvania,” he said. “If she does, she could be nominated.”

A poll released today by SurveyUSA has Clinton leading 55 percent to 36 percent with a 4 point margin of error. The survey was conducted March 8-10.

Nearly eight years after he left office, Bill Clinton remains popular in this overwhelmingly Democratic enclave, according to residents and local officials.

Some attendees of the town-hall style event said they like the idea of getting two presidents by electing Hillary Clinton. Others said they were voting for the senator on her own merits.

“It’s about her,” said Samuel J. Amorose, 86, a longtime local labor leader.

Amorose recalled sitting in the Oval Office in the mid-1990s after being invited along with a handful of other senior citizens to discuss Social Security and Medicare with the president. Hillary Clinton was engaged in the meeting, he remembered.

“These are down-to-earth people, he said.

Perhaps more troubling for Obama — and Democrats in general — is the resistance many of the Democrats here have to his candidacy.

Several die-hard Democrats said they would vote Republican and back Arizona Sen. John McCain if Obama wins the Democratic nomination.

The reasons for the lack of enthusiasm for Obama range from his short record in the national political sphere to a perception that he and his wife, Michelle Obama, are not sufficiently patriotic.

“I’d vote for McCain,” said Rosemary Sobeck. “I don’t think [Obama]’s got enough experience.”

Minnie Konovich, who sat in the front row, said an image of Obama standing without his hand over his heart during the playing of the national anthem hurt him, in her eyes.

“I don’t like him because he won’t acknowledge our flag,” she said. “He just stands there and does nothing.”

Asked whether he would be there if the telephone rings at 3 a.m. in the White House — a reference to a controversial Hillary Clinton ad suggesting she is better-equipped than Obama to handle a crisis — Bill Clinton indicated that won’t be his call.

“I will do whatever I am asked to do if you elect her president,” he said. “I’ll do whatever she wants me to.”