All Clinton all the time...

Hillary Clinton delivered the following statement yesterday at a “Solutions for the Urban Economy” town hall meeting in Philadelphia, PA.:

Hillary Clinton Reacts to Sen. Obama’s Newly Discovered Characterizations of Pennsylvanians

“I saw in the media it’s being reported that my opponent said that the people of Pennsylvania who faced hard times are bitter. Well, that’s not my experience.

“As I travel around Pennsylvania, I meet people who are resilient, who are optimistic, who are positive, who are rolling up their sleeves. They are working hard everyday for a better future, for themselves and their children.

“Pennsylvanians don’t need a president who looks down on them, they need a president who stands up for them, who fights for them, who works hard for your futures, your jobs, your families.”

Here are Senator Obama's comments:

OBAMA:So, it depends on where you are, but I think it's fair to say that the places where we are going to have to do the most work are the places where people are most cynical about government. The people are mis-appre...they're misunderstanding why the demographics in our, in this contest have broken out as they are. Because everybody just ascribes it to 'white working-class don't wanna work -- don't wanna vote for the black guy.' That's...there were intimations of that in an article in the Sunday New York Times today - kind of implies that it's sort of a race thing.

Here's how it is: in a lot of these communities in big industrial states like Ohio and Pennsylvania, people have been beaten down so long. They feel so betrayed by government that when they hear a pitch that is premised on not being cynical about government, then a part of them just doesn't buy it. And when it's delivered by -- it's true that when it's delivered by a 46-year-old black man named Barack Obama, then that adds another layer of skepticism.

But -- so the questions you're most likely to get about me, 'Well, what is this guy going to do for me? What is the concrete thing?' What they wanna hear is -- so, we'll give you talking points about what we're proposing -- to close tax loopholes, you know, roll back the tax cuts for the top 1 percent. Obama's gonna give tax breaks to middle-class folks and we're gonna provide health care for every American.

But the truth is, is that, our challenge is to get people persuaded that we can make progress when there's not evidence of that in their daily lives. You go into some of 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 gonna 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.

Um, now these are in some communities, you know. I think what you'll find is, is that people of every background -- there are gonna be a mix of people, you can go in the toughest neighborhoods, you know working-class lunch-pail folks, you'll find Obama enthusiasts. And you can go into places where you think I'd be very strong and people will just be skeptical. The important thing is that you show up and you're doing what you're doing.

Florida demands recognition.

Rudy supports Hillary Clinton.

Actor Sean Astin said he thought some people might try to compare his role in the film “Rudy” with Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign.

But, Astin said he doesn’t believe Clinton is fighting seemingly insurmountable odds, as Rudy was.

Speaking on behalf of the New York senator Friday at Wilkes University, Astin said he believes Clinton will win the Democratic presidential nomination.

But there is one scene from the movie that could play well in the New York senator’s campaign, he said. As Rudy prepares to take the field, a teammate asks, “Rudy, are you ready for this, champ?”

Rudy’s response: “I’ve been ready for this my whole life!”

“Rudy” tells the story of Daniel E. “Rudy” Ruettiger who led the Notre Dame Fighting Irish onto the field against Georgia Tech. The diminutive Ruettiger entered the game near the end and sacked the quarterback. He was carried off the field on the shoulders of his teammates and the story serves as an inspiration to millions of people worldwide.

Astin said he hoped to bring that kind of message to the Clinton campaign. Speaking to about 75 students at the Henry Student Center, Astin praised Clinton.

“I agree with Gov. Ed Rendell when he says Hillary Clinton gets it,” Astin said. “She not only gets it, she gets how to pay for it.”

Astin said he has been a fan of Clinton since he heard her speak at the University of Colorado in 1992.

“She’s an extraordinary woman who has the sincerity and the genuine-ness we need in a president. She is authentic and it comes out when you hear her speak.”