Ryan Greeted by overflow crowd in Pennsylvania

The Morning Call:

When Mitt Romney suggested several weeks ago that he would win Pennsylvania, the challenge seemed almost insurmountable.

But when Paul Ryan asked a raucous Pennsylvania crowd of GOPfaithful Saturday afternoon if they were ready to help the Republican ticket win the state, he was serious about the prospects.

"It feels really good to be standing in here with Pennsylvania today," the Republican vice presidential candidate said.

Throughout Ryan's 30-minute remarks inside a HarrisburgInternational Airport hangar, the crowd was deafening, at times chanting, "Three more days, Three more days."

A month ago, with President Barack Obama holding a 7- to 10-point lead over Romney in several Pennsylvania polls, the GOP likely did not expect to be having huge political rallies here with less than 72 hours until Election Day.

For most of the year, Pennsylvania was widely considered a sure thing for the Democrats. But in recent days, the Republicans have launched a concerted effort to win its 20 electoral votes. Democrats say the Republicans are looking to make up for shortcomings in other key states, but Republicans insist they see an opening in Pennsylvania.

Ryan's campaign stop touched off a whirlwind three days of political activity in Pennsylvania. Romney will headline a rally inBucks County on Sunday. And former President Bill Clinton will hold three events across Pennsylvania on Monday to make the closing pitch for Obama.

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In Pennsylvania, a state Obama won by 10 points in 2008 and that has 1 million more registered Democrats, the Republicans need a high turnout of their base as well as a significant number of disillusioned Obama voters to come to the polls.

Ryan played to the latter Saturday, telling the crowd of nearly 2,500 that Obama the president did not mend the country as Obama the candidate had promised.

"He then appealed to our highest aspirations, today he is appealing to our lowest fears," Ryan said.

He and Romney would "run at" the nation's economic problems, he said. "We're not going to spend the next four years blaming other people."

Nearly a thousand additional supporters waited in the cold, unable to get in to see Ryan because the hangar was at capacity. Ryan greeted them briefly before jetting off to the next airport in battleground Virginia.

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Polls in districts within Pennsylvania show Romney leading even in some Democrat areas.  This stop was in the Lehigh Valley near Harrisburg which is the state capitol.  To pull off a win, the Romney-Ryan team needs to perform well in the Philadelphia suburbs to offset the inner city vote.  That vote might be depressed because of the damage from the storm which the Obama administration has handled poorly in several areas such as running out of water,