By The River

I'm just getting around to the latest Franklin & Marshall Poll. It was collected Aug. 4-10 and shows Sen. Barack Obama leading Sen. John McCain in Pennsylvania by 8 points among all voters, and by by 5 points among "likely" voters. The poll reinforces the general belief that the election is Obama's to lose, but runs counter to a growing perception that Pennsylvania is McCain's to lose. In fact, it may be why McCain is giving serious consideration to picking former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge as his running mate: he needs help in the Keystone State.

Some of the poll's findings: 77 percent of Pennsylvania residents believe the country is heading in the wrong direction, and 37 percent are worse off economically this year than last. A majority of the state, 55 percent, believe McCain will follow the policies of President George W. Bush and are less likely to vote for him as a result.

Obama leads among younger voters, non-whites, college graduates, women, and residents of Philadelphia. An almost comical 82 percent of Philadelphians are for Obama, compared to just 7 percent for McCain. McCain leads among Protestants, fundamentalist Christians, and among residents of northwest and northeast Pennsylvania. That latter statistic is among reasons Obama is considering Delaware Sen. Joe Biden as his running mate. Biden is an Irish Catholic who spent the first 10 years of his life in Scranton.

And here's my favorite statistic from the poll: 3 percent of Pennsylvania residents believe President George W. Bush is doing an "excellent" job. Who are these people?