BartBlog

March 6, 2008

Michael Smerconish: Candidates’ Pennsylvania Primer

Filed under: Commentary — Tags: , — Volt @ 5:24 pm

Michael Smerconish, The Huffington Post, March 6, 2008

Welcome, Candidates! It’s been a long time since Pennsylvania mattered in a presidential contest and we are elated to host you. As your self-appointed advance man, I offer the following survival tips for your seven-week sojourn into the Keystone state:

Pronunciation matters. When in Philadelphia, make certain that Olney is “ahl-uh-nee,” Passyunk “pa-shunk” and the Schuylkill “skoo-kul.”

In central Pennsylvania, Juniata County is not akin to a Hispanic first name, but rather “joo-nee-atta.” In Pittsburgh, it’s spelled Monongahela, and pronounced the same way.

Sports. Work in a mention of the Eagles (pronounced “Iggles”) anytime traveling east of Harrisburg; reference JoePa whenever driving through or flying over central Pennsylvania, and describe the Immaculate Reception anytime subjected to a Q&A in Pittsburgh.

“Big Five” means basketball, and not the number of superdelegates controlled by city Democratic chairman Bob Brady.

Amish country: It’s beautiful, but you may want to avoid Intercourse, Pa., for press avails. Ditto Blue Ball.

Read More Here

No Comments

No comments yet.

RSS feed for comments on this post.

Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.

Powered by WordPress