Democratic Rivals Tout Main Street Over Wall Street

April 2, 2008 — -- In the Democratic fight for Pennsylvania, New York Sen. Hillary Clinton is now casting herself in the light of Rocky Balboa -- as a scrappy fighter who will stay in the ring till the final round.

"Could you imagine if Rocky Balboa had gotten halfway up those art museum stairs and said, 'well, I guess that's about far enough?'" Clinton said Tuesday during a speech in Philadelphia.

Nevermind that in the movie Rocky does manage to go 15 rounds, but loses…and by a split decision at that.

Fighting for superdelegates, Clinton's campaign may be close to hitting below the belt.

Clinton's top delegate hunter Harold Ickes told an interviewer he's raising the race issue with superdelegates, arguing that Illinois Sen. Barack Obama's controversial former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, makes him unelectable.

And on the trail, in a plot twist worthy of a Hollywood movie, the two candidates stumped for votes less than a mile apart, in the same small town on the very same day.

Wilkes Barre, population 43,000, a former coal mining town where the mines have long since shut down and the economy is a mess.

Both candidates pegged their messages on that point, at times sounding like they were reading from the same script.

"I think anybody who has been paying attention knows that although Wall Street got the news in the last few months, Main Street has been struggling for a lot longer," Obama said during a rally at Wilkes University.

"It may be working for Wall Street, but it's not working for Main Street," Clinton said Tuesday in Wilkes Barre on her "Solutions for the Pennsylvania Economy" tour.

She also complained that Obama was trying to end the race prematurely.

"He said it was a movie that had gone on too long. We haven't even gotten to the part where Pennsylvania votes," Clinton said.

The contest remains fierce, but that didn't stop Clinton from having a little fun.

At one point Tuesday, Clinton approached a group of reporters with an earnest look on her face.

"We clearly need to do something so out party and people can make the right decision," Clinton began.

She offered a proposal: she challenged Obama to a bowl-off. "When this game is over the American people will know when that phone rings at 3am they will have a president who is ready to bowl on day one," she said.

April Fools!

Over the weekend Obama scored a dismal 37 when he bowled against his supporter Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA). Bowler-in-Chief Obama is not.

But the end of the contest could now be in sight. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., publicly embraced Howard Dean's plan to wrap up the nomination well ahead of the convention. Undecided superdelegates would have to declare themselves for Clinton or Obama by July 1.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Tuesday on "Good Morning America" that the battle for the Democratic nomination has to "run its course" and she has shied away from delivering a hard deadline to her party's superdelegates.