Northeast warming up to Obama?

It's still Hillary Clinton country up in Northeast Philadelphia, but many Clinton acolytes yesterday said they'd follow her lead and vote for Barack Obama next month.

Sen. Clinton, the former Democratic presidential candiate who won big in the Northeast in the April primary, appeared yesterday at the Jewish Community Center-Klein Branch in Bustleton to pump up voters for Sen. Obama. After she was greeted with a wild standing ovation, Clinton said Obama would best lift up the economy and support the middle class.

"It took a Democratic president to clean up after the last Bush, and it's going to take a Democratic president to clean up after this Bush," said Clinton, who was joined by U.S. Rep. Allyson Schwartz and Mayor Nutter.

More than 500 people, mostly senior citizens, packed the auditorium. Many said they had supported Clinton in the primary and were upset when she lost the nomination.

"I wasn't going to vote," said Sara Ronson, 82, who lives in the Northeast. "My thoughts were that I don't know this man. I was disappointed that we didn't get Hillary."

But Ronson said she came around. "[Vice-presidential candidate Joe] Biden makes a big difference. He has the experience," she said. "I think a lot of people are going for Obama. He's working for the little guy."

With its large, white working-class population, the Northeast has been viewed as a problem area for Obama. But Schwartz, whose district covers part of the Northeast, said voters were moving toward Obama.

"People needed to get to know him," Schwartz said. "We keep our politicians a long time in Pennsylvania."

With 22 days to go in the race, Obama is leading in battleground states' polls, including Pennsylvania. He was greeted by more than 60,000 jubilant supporters on Saturday at four rallies in Philadelphia.

The economy remains the top issue in the race and yesterday, Obama released new economic proposals.

His plan includes a 90-day moratorium on home foreclosures for many homeowners, penalty-free 401(k) withdrawals of up to $10,000 in 2008 and 2009, and tax breaks for businesses that create jobs.

"It's a plan that begins with one word that's on everyone's mind, and it's spelled J-O-B-S," Obama said in Toledo, Ohio, yesterday.

In a statement, Tucker Bounds, a spokesman for Republican candidate Sen. John McCain, slammed the plan.

"The American people heard a series of new proposals from Barack Obama today, but what they did not hear was a promise to stop pursuing his massive tax increases," Bounds said.

And despite the rising poll numbers and momentum for Obama, McCain, in Virginia yesterday, said the race was far from over.

"We have 22 days to go. We're 6 points down. The national media has written us off. Senator Obama is measuring the drapes, and planning with [House] Speaker [Nancy] Pelosi and Senator [Harry] Reid to raise taxes, increase spending, take away your right to vote by secret ballot in labor elections, and concede defeat in Iraq," McCain said.

"What America needs in this hour is a fighter, someone who puts all his cards on the table and trusts the judgment of the American people."

McCain will participate in a town-hall meeting today in Blue Bell, Montgomery County. *