Michael Moore.com: In Battle for Pennsylvania, Philadelphia Suburbs Probably Hold the Key

Michael Moore.com WAYNE, Pa. - The ladies lunching on the veranda of the venerable Wayne Hotel here had nothing nice to say about Senator John Kerry , but that did not prevent them from saying it.

"He's a fraud," said Alida Haslett, 53, who works in a framing shop and lives in nearby Bryn Mawr. "I don't believe he's a war hero."

Her companions were equally sour on Mr. Kerry, the Democratic presidential nominee.

"He's a Kennedy wannabe," said Carol Ogelsby, 50, who sells real estate.

"There's nothing like a wannabe," put in Betsy Grace, also 50, who works in architectural restoration.

Those women are crucial to President Bush's hopes for winning Pennsylvania. They voice no complaints about the economy, see the American presence in Iraq as positive and support the president's opposition to same-sex marriage, although they are mixed on his opposition to abortion rights.

In short, the women reflect the Republican values that have prevailed for generations along this stretch of long-settled affluent suburbs named for the Main Line of the Pennsylvania Railroad, which began ferrying commuters westward from Philadelphia in the 1880's and where, Ms. Ogelsby said, the median price of a home runs $700,000 to $800,000.

But Mr. Bush cannot take too much comfort from the women. Even they expressed a sense of foreboding about his chances here in November. Ms. Grace conceded that she was at odds with her own family.

"They're not all Republicans," she said. "In fact, I'm probably one of the few. It's a little scary."

Ms. Ogelsby said that she had Republican friends "who are angry at Bush and went to see 'Fahrenheit 9/11,' and they all stood up and clapped at the end."

by Katherine Q. Seelye
New York Times