We are heading there now to find out. As you have probably heard, there is an uproar over recent comments made by Presidential hopeful Barack Obama about the people who live in small towns in Pennsylvania, and other small towns in the Midwest.

Here’s the quote:

“Our challenge is to get people persuaded that we can make progress when there’s not evidence of that in their daily lives,” he said. “You go into 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. And they fell through the Clinton administration, and the Bush administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are going to 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.”

Hillary Clinton and John McCain have plenty to say about what he said…

“Pennsylvanians don’t need a president who looks down on them. They need a president who stands up for them, who fights for them,” Clinton said Friday afternoon at a campaign stop in Philadelphia. She said the Pennsylvanians she’s met aren’t bitter, but “resilient” and “positive.”

McCain adviser Steve Schmidt called Obama’s statement “remarkable” and “extremely revealing.” “It shows an elitism and condescension towards hardworking Americans that is nothing short of breathtaking,” Schmidt said. “It is hard to imagine someone running for president of the United States who is more out of touch with average Americans.”

So, this morning, we packed up our cameras and live truck and are heading to Allentown (we are all in the truck now listening to Billy Joel’s song “Allentown” as I write this to get us in the mood….) We are almost to our location - a diner where many locals hang, and are going to talk to them about what Obama said and how they feel about it.

My opening line? “are you bitter?” This should be interesting…. stay tuned

UPDATE: 11:45am. First interview; Thomas Graham who I found outside the Gate 7 diner in Allentown, here’s what he had to say

done

This is John McGurrin, a retired school teacher, Navy Vet, and former 30 resident of Allentown

done

After Senator Hillary Clinton’s big wins in Texas and Ohio, Barack Obama clearly owned Wyoming Saturday…caucus-goers there choosing the Illinois Democrat with a record turnout. Still, the delegate distribution could be termed a “near-tie”, Obama securing 7 more delegates, Clinton walking away with another 5.

Senator McCain remains focused on the Mississippi race Tuesday and then Pennsylvania April 22nd…but how does he keep up the momentum for both the GOP and his plans for a McCain Presidency?

That’s what we’ll examine today in America’s Election Headquarters at 10am eastern when I host two hours with Eric Shawn.

We’ll show you a new Senator McCain campaign ad…the Arizona Senator must not only bring more conservatives aboard, he must build his general election campaign infra-structure, raise campaign cash and select a vice-presidental nominee that will attract not only republicans but cross-over voters as well.

Who do you think is the VP choice most likely to secure John McCain a victory in November?

Post your choice here!

Barack Obama made an unprecedented 45 minute speech last night (to me it seemed like a convention nomination acceptance speech) repeating his platform and promises for big change. A filled beyond capacity crowd in Houston applauding and hanging on every word while Hillary Clinton spoke to supporters in Ohio with much less airtime.

Upcoming races in Ohio and Texas are critical for Hillary whether or not she can turn the all-important superdelegates her way (they make up 20% of the democratic delegate count). While Obama is ahead in delegates neither candidate is guaranteed the 2025 delegates needed to secure the nomination.

So what do you think Senator Clinton should do:

a) hang in there and keep campaigning because it ain’t over till it’s over

b) bow out and get back to being a senator

c) work out a deal for the #2 spot and join forces with Obama

Feel free to suggest something else…..

My co-anchor Eric Shawn taught me a new phrase. Obamicans. These are Republicans who do not see what they want in either the GOP frontrunner for the nomination- John McCain-or the evangelical christian favorite Mike Huckabee and are throwing their support for Barack Obama.

On our You Decide 2008 coverage this morning, I interviewed Susan Eisenhower granddaughter to President Dwight D. Eisenhower about her support for the Democratic candidate. She is, she insists, a Republican who has no intention of leaving the GOP party. So why is she “crossing over” the aisle to become an “Obamican”?

Eisenhower believes we are obligated to leave this country better than we found it. She told me Barack Obama is the only candidate that has and will reach - she believes -across the aisle and bring bi-partisan support to the issues that matter most.

I asked her about the importance of military experience in the White House, something her grandfather President Eisenhower surely tapped into with all the international affairs he had to tackle while in office! She says her grandfather would respect her choice and had similar priorities in choosing a candidate…dismissing Obama’s lack of direct military expertise.

And she insists her decision to support Barack Obama is NOT a move against Hillary Clinton but a move toward what she believes this country needs.

I’m not re-stating what she said on the show to take a position but I did want to raise the potential for other “Obamicans” and ask you:

How many Republicans to you think will cross parties in a general election and why? Which issue facing Americans would most lead the right to go left?