On stanching the blue collar bleeding

Here's a little more to ponder on Obama and white working class voters while we wait for his Scranton speech: in Pennsylvania, Obama already does poorly with the voting bloc. His challenge for 2012 isn't to win them over, but rather not get completely crushed by the demographic. Conversely, if the GOP -- which some argue has already become the party of the working class nationwide -- can build on its 2010 hold on working class voters it has an n opportunity to win the state's big ol' bag of electoral votes for the first time since 1988.

In a study published this month by the Center for American Progress Democratic strategist Ruy Teixeira (with John Halpin) said Obama first has to concentrate on getting out the more Democratic-friendly white college graduates in the state (and can pair them with heavy minority turnout for a possible win). But next comes the white working class voter, who went for opponent John McCain 57-42 in 2008, and preferred GOP candidates nationwide by a 30-point margin in the 2010 midterms.

They write:

Obama's second big problem is perhaps the GOP's best opportunity. That is a worsening situation among the group already hostile to him: the white working class. Indeed, in 2008 Obama actually did worse among these voters in Pennsylvania (losing them by 15 points) than Kerry did in 2004. If they swing further away from him in 2012, and approach the 30-point nationwide deficit Democrats suffered in 2010, it could hand the Keystone state to the GOP.

Plenty more on their report -- where we got the graphic above -- here from Thomas Edsall at the New York Times.

It's in full below.

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