I've been arguing that the question of what President Obama needs to do to win the Midwest next year is quickly being answered by the region's wildly unpopular Republican governors, who are trashing the party's reputation. Here's the latest from Pennsylvania:
Pennsylvania voters are pessimistic about the direction of their state and give their new governor, Tom Corbett(R), an approval rating of only 31%.
Lower than the early approval ratings of former governors Tom Ridge and Ed Rendell at this point in their terms in office.
The latest numbers come from a Franklin and Marshall Poll released Thursday.
Of course, the main part of Obama's strategy for being popular in the Midwest is to be popular period. But to the extent that he needs a Midwest-specific element to minimize the tiny chance that there's a popular vote-electoral college split, the Republican governors are Obama's midwest strategy.