The Web site Politico reports that in some corners of Pennsylvania -- actually, in great expanses of Pennsylvania -- there are people wondering, "Hey, where are the candidates?'

Some folks envisioned that Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama would be spending so much time campaigning here for the April 22 primary, that you couldn't stop in a deli without bumping into one or the other of them.

"We feel neglected here," said Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski, who has not yet endorsed a candidate. "People just assumed that, because they had such a long period, they would spend a lot of time in the state."

You see, this was going to be our chance to sit at the grown-ups' table with Iowa and New Hampshire. We were finally going to have a say. People were going to have to pay attention to us, darn it!

Well, former President Bill Clinton seems to be spending a lot of time here. Today, he'll be in Williamsport, joining Rep. Tim Holden for the St. Patrick's Day parade in Girardville.

You know, it's possible that the people in Girardville might have gotten carried away when they set their clocks back this month.

Not everyone is giving Pennsylvania the high hat. Republican presidential candidate Dr. Ron Paul will be speaking at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health on Thursday.

He'll be speaking about public health and his own experiences with the U.S. health care system as a doctor.

Sen. Arlen Specter yesterday predicted that Sen. John McCain would run a competitive race in Pennsylvania in the November general election, calling Mr. McCain's rising political fortunes a sign that voters are eager to support moderate candidates.

"I think that's what the voters of Pennsylvania like," Mr. Specter said after taking a tour of PPG Industries' Springdale plant.

Mr. Specter and Mr. McCain are known for taking positions that sometimes run counter to GOP dogma. Yet Mr. Specter, first elected in 1980, lamented that the number of independent-minded lawmakers -- he cited the late Sen. John Heinz, another Pennsylvania Republican, as an example -- in Congress has declined during his tenure on the Hill.

That, he argues, has increased the partisan rancor in American politics.

"Today, the moderates in the Senate can meet in a telephone booth," he said. "There really is more of a need for moderates to come back."

They were born only three weeks apart in February 1980, but they have a lot in common. Well, some things.

OK, she grew up in the White House, and he grew up in a house in Troy Hill.

But Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and Chelsea Clinton both live in a world of politics. And at 9 a.m. today, they'll be together at Folino's Restaurant at 1719 E. Carson St. on the South Side for a question-and-answer session.

Maybe he'll invite her to stick around and see a South Side Saturday night. On second thought ...

OK, there were Franco Harris and Jerome Bettis, joining Mr. Obama at Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall yesterday.

But what was that towel Mr. Obama was waving. It was BLUE!