Obama heads for Pa. turf where he’s still liked to stump for Wolf

Well, well, looks like the president isn’t entirely homebound by his slumping approval ratings.
He’s coming to Temple University in Philadelphia on Sunday to boost voter enthusiasm for Democratic governor nominee Tom Wolf.
Of course, it’s about the only place in Pennsylvania he could go.
Philadelphia is the only region where a majority of voters think he’s doing a good or excellent job – 51 percent good or excellent, 49 percent fair or poor.
Overall, Mr. Obama’s job approval rating in the Keystone State was down to 32 percent in the latest Franklin & Marshall College poll released Tuesday.
In other words, President George W. Bush country before the 2006 election when Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell sought a second term. In October 2006, Mr. Bush’s approval rating stood at 31 percent.
Remember the way Democratic state Treasurer Bob Casey clubbed Republican U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum’s state political career to an end by pointing out Mr. Santorum “voted 98 percent of the time with George Bush?”
Gov. Tom Corbett hasn’t had the same opportunity because Mr. Wolf hasn’t served in an elected office. The governor hasn’t tried really hard to tie Mr. Wolf to Mr. Obama. Instead, he’s focused on the claim that Mr. Wolf would raises taxes, a highly questionable claim lacking the nuances of Mr. Wolf’s actual policy but one that seems to have resonated at least with Republicans.
The new F&M poll showed Mr. Wolf’s longstanding lead down to 13 percentage points, largely because Republicans came home.
Back to Mr. Obama.
Everywhere else in Pennsylvania, his approval ratings stink, F&M says.
He does best outside of Philadelphia in Allegheny County, home to Pittsburgh and the second largest bastion of Democratic voters. He’s at 42 percent there.
He doesn’t break 30 percent anywhere else.
In the northeast, home to Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, Pittston, Hazleton, Carbondale, Allentown and Bethlehem, he’s at 26 percent.
In the southeast, 32 percent, northwest, 27 percent, central (the ‘T’), 25 percent, southwest, 24 percent.
Just look at that. Mr. Obama is doing barely better in the northeast – one of the largest Democratic voting blocs – than he is in central Pennsylvania, the heart of Republican country.
Guess that 54 months by the Scranton-Wilkes-Barre metro area at the top of the unemployment charts will do that to a president’s approval rating, huh?
This is why he’ll show up only in Philadelphia and only two days before the election.
Better than to risk the Republicans getting a picture of the president and Mr. Wolf together too early that they could use in weeks of televisions commercials.
— BORYS KRAWCZENIUK