Barack Obama’s overwhelming support among young Americans has been a media truism throughout the entire primary season. So we couldn’t help but let out a perplexed “Say whaa?” when we opened today’s Daily Pennsylvanian — the student newspaper at the University of Pennsylvania — and saw an official endorsement of Hillary Clinton. Philly Grill grabbed the DP’s executive editor, David Lei, for a quick chat to find out what he and his staff were thinking. — Stephanie Twining

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Sunday’s hilarious, blistering New York Times Magazine profile of Philly homeboy Chris Matthews — a portrait that makes Darrell Hammond’s cartoonish SNL impression of Matthews look like something from Masterpiece Theatre — concludes with the possibility of the MSNBC talking head challenging Arlen Specter for a U.S. Senate seat in 2010:

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Hillary Clinton phoned in to John DeBella’s WMGK morning show today to keep pace with Barack Obama’s Philadelphia morning show appearances (all tied up now, 2-2) and avoid saying anything incendiary.

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Hillary Clinton’s heroic hand-shaking efforts on a tarmac in Bosnia back in 1996 may have been completely discredited, but even if she had saved 14 Bosnian babies being tossed from a helicopter, it would do little to help her chances of victory at this point. So, as much as it feels like Pennsylvania is this crucial, make-or-break state, could it really affect the election that much?

Not really. Will Bunch — the Clinton Killer, if you will — agrees that Pennsylvania’s influence can only go so far.

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A former aide to Jim McGreevey and his estranged wife is claiming that he engaged in sexual relations with both of them before McGreevey was elected governor. This claim flies in the face of the $600,000 lawsuit Dina Matos McGreevey has filed against her ex-husband, which claims she was defrauded by his sexuality. It’s tough to feel that defrauded if you willfully engaged in a kinky sexual activities with McGreevey and another man, though, isn’t it?

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Hillary Clinton’s thundering clomps through the Keystone State grow stronger, as does her e-mail-borne passive-aggressive hostility toward Barack Obama. “The Clinton Campaign” clogged inboxes across the state this morning with a message (at an impressive 1,352 words, no less) tearing apart Obama’s foreign policy record from Bosnia to Northern Ireland. Also, she gave it the ol’ 3 a.m. try once again:

After last week’s defeats, the Obama campaign faced a choice: try to convince voters that Senator Obama is ready to take the 3am phone call in a positive way or try to tear down Senator Clinton’s accomplishments.

If that doesn’t work, there’s always the old standby: William Jefferson, who’ll once again be glad-handsy-ing in Philadelphia tomorrow night. This event ain’t for the poor people, though:

Please join

Please make checks payable to
“Hillary Clinton for President”

Meanwhile, Obama’s traipsing around Bucks County with Giant-hater Rep. Patrick Murphy, trying to woo pee-wee hockey mommies with his Hawafricasian charm.

Hillary Clinton for President [Hillary Clinton.com]
Obama brings campaign to Bucks [Philly Burbs]

Although you might be getting the bulk of your ’08 election coverage from CNN and MSNBC, it’s time to shove funny-bearded Wolf Blitzer and lesbianic Anderson Cooper aside while Pennsylvania’s in play. Meet your new political correspondent: Kerri-Lee Halkett. (Oh … and Bruce Gordon.)

Halkett (and Bruce Gordon) will host You Decide 2008: Battleground Pennsylvania this evening at 11 p.m. and every Tuesday through April 22nd. Tonight, the FOX 29 crew welcomes Fox News’s mini-O’Reilly, Shepard Smith, via satellite from Mississippi to talk all things Obama/Hillary/McCain with Halkett (and Bruce Gordon).

Hopefully, Smith won’t get tongue-tied in front of Halkett (and Bruce Gordon), causing another unfortunate curb-job/blow-job slip.

Shepard Smith helps Fox 29 Tomorrow [The Mighty Dan Gross]

Mayor Michael Nutter is probably going to get grilled more than most Hillary Clinton supporters in Pennsylvania over the next six weeks, for the sole reason that his pledge to back her automatically leaves him vulnerable to the question of whether he’s disrespecting his black constituency by not bouncing over to Obama.

First up to question the mayor about the issue is the Associated Press. In a piece headlined “Philly Mayor Sticking With Clinton,” which hit the wires a few hours ago, Nutter gives the appropriate hell-to-the-naw response, translated in the story as “This notion that somehow there is a monolithic black vote is just a myth.”

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As one of Pennsylvania’s 26 superdelegates, Marcel Groen, chairman of the Montgomery County Democratic Committee and a partner at Fox Rotschild LLP, has publicly pledged to back Hillary Clinton. He spoke to the Daily Examiner earlier today about the role of superdelegates, his prediction for tonight’s primary results, and why Pennsylvania will still be in the field of play come April 22nd.

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Not sure why Philly boy Todd Young didn’t do this in the first place, what with this being 2008 at and all, but he finally got around to posting a YouTube video for his “Barack Obama Song,” which you first heard here last week. So go waste valuable time and do that viral thing that you love doing so much.

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