Clinton in Harrisburg tomorrow
With the April 22 Pennsylvania primary only six weeks away, Sen. Hillary Clinton brings her campaign for the Democratic nomination for President to Harrisburg tomorrow. Clinton is holding a noon "Solutions for America" rally inside the 1,763-seat Forum at Fifth & Walnut Streets, just a stone's throw from the Capitol. Doors open at 10 a.m. There isn't any significant amount of parking available in that part of downtown Harrisburg or even in easy walking distance in the middle of a workday. Shuttle bus service will be available from the Farm Show's overflow parking lot off Elmerton Avenue beginning at 9 a.m.
Methinks the location of this rally--in easy walking distance of many of the state offices--suggests at least a certain amount of worry on the part of the Clinton campaign and the Rendell Administration that turnout could be a problem at other locations in and around the state capital. Gov. Ed Rendell and Harrisburg Mayor Stephen Reed have endorsed Clinton and will make sure the Forum is packed to the gills, but I suspect that Harrisburg is more of a Barack Obama town. And not just because the population here is 55 percent black, but that's part of it. I suspect there are a fair number of Obama supporters in the people around Rendell.
Obama supporters will have their day on Saturday, April 12, outside the National Civil War Museum in Reservoir Park. A news release sent out by Central Pennsylvania Friends of Barack Obama says they are "hopeful" Obama or his wife, Michelle, will attend either the daylong rally or an evening jazz reception at the museum. I can't imagine Obama won't come to Harrisburg. Will this be the event? Stay tuned. Former Harrisburg City Council member Lenora Smith is in charge of the Obama campaign here. Sheila Dow Ford, the former chief counsel (1994-2007) of the troubled Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA) is the Hershey organizer.