Swann overwhelmingly won the PA GOP Central Caucus 77-31 over Scranton

Hotline On Call: Still Wants To Be A Player: "January 10, 2006
Still Wants To Be A Player
Ex-Pittsburgh Steeler Lynn Swann might not familiar to PA political establishment like ex-LG Bill Scranton. After all, he has to compete with Scranton, who has a city named after him. (Not really.)

So maybe his campaign is trying to put him in a very familiar light. If this "Property Taxes" spot seems familiar, maybe that's because it's similar to the NFL pre-game spots announcing the starting line-up.

Note the white background, fade in/out bright spot lighting and how he crosses his arms and looks up at the end.

It's part of a larger theme: it seems his campaign wants build on his athletic/broadcaster reputation to combat his lack of juice within
PA GOP establishment.

So far it's worked: Swann overwhelmingly won the PA GOP Central Caucus 77-31 over Scranton. As Franklin and Marshall prof G. Terry Madonna told The Hotline: "This is what's giving him entree into the political community. When he travels and speaks, he gets larger audiences . . . why not embrace it and turn it into a positive?"

But Madonna is also quick to note that what works in Schwarzenegger's CA or Ventura's MN, might not for "meat and potatoes" PA, which has never had an athlete or celebrity run for office, despite, he says, GOP attempts to woo PSU coach Joe Paterno and Golf Legend Arnold Palmer. Madonna: "He's not a Hollywood celebrity type...He played for a blue collar team. I think he's trying to make a connection with a lot of working people. It's a very smart tactical move on the part of his campaign." [SHIRA R. TOEPLITZ]
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