“But there is a tangible sense–seen in Romney yard signs on the expansive lawns of homes in the well-heeled suburbs, and heard in the excited voices of Republican mothers who make phone calls to voters in their spare time–that the race is tilting toward Mr. Romney.”
That’s not the National Review, or an op-ed on the Wall Street Journal‘s opinion pages. It’s the Gray Lady herself, the New York Times, covering the sudden surge of poll numbers and enthusiasm for Mitt Romney in the Keystone State.
Just three weeks ago, even conservatives were skeptical that Romney had a fighting chance in Pennsylvania. “Still they torment us with the possibility of Pennsylvania,” wrote William Jacobson of Legal Insurrection.
But the Romney surge is real, and success has bred success, just as it did for Scott Brown in Massachusetts in 2010. Once the possibility of victory became real, however remote, there was enough new interest and enthusiasm among conservatives in the state to create additional enthusiasm.
When the Obama campaign began advertising in the state, and sending candidates and surrogates to rallies there, that was all the evidence the GOP grassroots needed to redouble their efforts.
The Republican Jewish Coalition, which has been running ads in the state targeting pro-Israel voters in general and Jewish voters in particular, reported today that the Obama campaign’s sudden ad buy in Pennsylvania has bumped its commercials from their original slots.
Anecdotal evidence from activists on the ground reports a huge advantage in motivation among Republicans. Democrats are struggling to rouse moribund field operations–and, unlike Ohio, where the Obama campaign has tried to saturate the airwaves with negative ads about Romney, Pennsylvania voters may be learning about both candidates very late in the game.
Pennsylvania is still considered a challenge for Romney, but when the New York Times, which has spent years shilling for the Obama administration, reports that “the race is tilting toward Mr. Romney,” believe it.
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