Post by Dan Cummings - Maybe I shouldn't have been surprised, but I was, and pleasantly so.  On Tuesday in Scranton, Pennsylvania, I was covering the get-out-the-vote effort for Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama in the state's pivotal Presidential primary.  And right there, in the Scranton campaign offices of both candidates...were several people from...Oswego, Marcellus, and Cortland.  A busload of Central New Yorkers had made its way from the Empire State to the Keystone State to work the phones and the streets...for their candidate.  Later that evening, when the results were in, I met a couple from Manhattan who were celebrating the 10-point win of their candidate, Senator Clinton.   I got to wondering if this many Pennsylvanians came to New York State to volunteer for our primary earlier this year.  I doubt it. (of course, Senator Clinton's built-in advantage as our junior U.S. Senator gave her a bigger edge here, so our primary wasn't nearly as hotly contested).
 
The contest for the Democratic nomination this year is one for the ages.  And it became very clear to me this week, how high the emotions can run...and how deep the passion can be...for both Clinton and Obama.  Some, of course, will concede the obvious...that they are BOTH quality candidates, and that EITHER would make for a strong nominee.  But the vast majority of Democrats, it seems to me...are probably like the people I met in those Scranton campaign offices this week:  intense in their devotion to one candidate or the other, convinced that either he, or she...is best suited to lead the country.  And they will travel to neighboring states, if they can, to work for the election of their favorite.  One Oswego woman told me she'll probably head to West Virginia in advance of the primary there...to work for Senator Clinton.
 
There is much at stake in the 2008 Presidential election.  It is refreshing and encouraging to see the numbers of people paying serious attention, and in many cases, taking an active role in the outcome.