With 21 electoral votes up for grabs, Pennsylvania is undoubtedly one of the largest battleground states this year, despite swinging Democratic in the last three presidential elections.
"Pennsylvania has been very strongly affected by [President George W. Bush's] new foreign policy stance," Political Science Department Chairman Rogers Smith said, noting the importance of foreign policy concerns given the numerous military service people killed in Iraq and Afghanistan who hailed from the state.
"Pennsylvania will play a large role in determining the outcome in the nation," Smith said.
This fact has evidently not been lost on the presidential candidates, as this summer has seen Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry striking poses reminiscent of Sylvester Stallone's Rocky at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Meanwhile, Bush has made over 30 campaign visits to Pennsylvania, more than to any other state.
The suburban southeast and Philadelphia tend to control the election due to their relatively large sizes. Pennsylvania last went to the Republican presidential candidate when the suburbs supported the first George Bush.
However, political furor isn't only erupting because of the presidential elections.
Ongoing Federal Bureau of Investigation inquiries into possible corruption in Philadelphia resulted in the June 29 indictment of former City Treasurer Corey Kemp, lawyer and Democratic fundraiser Ronald White, and 10 others.
Mayor John Street has been a subject of the probe but is unlikely to be charged, despite the indictment's allegations which Street flatly denied that he instructed his staff to award city business to White and provided inside information about the operations of city agencies.
Speculation concerning Street's possible indictment began when FBI wire-tap devices were found in Street's office in October 2003.
So far, only two defendants have pleaded guilty: Rhonda M. Anderson for mail fraud to conceal Kemp's interest in an asset locator business, and Berks County carpenter Jose Mendoza for making false statements to obtain a construction loan.
Meanwhile, Kemp, White and several others including two Commerce Bank executives and a Philadelphia businesswoman identified in the indictment as White's "paramour" have pleaded not guilty to charges of scheming to deprive Philadelphia citizens of the right to honest public service.
Appointed treasurer in April 2002, Kemp resigned in November 2003 following accusations that he accepted Superbowl tickets from White.
Kemp and White allegedly conspired to delegate significant authority to White on city business matters in exchange for monetary and other benefits.
The 150-page indictment was seen as a harsh criticism of Philadelphia's "pay-to-play" culture in which campaign donors gain access to lucrative city contracts.
In an interesting twist in the probe, the FBI picked up the name of the leader of one of Philadelphia's largest mosques and an alleged former Black Mafia member, Imam Shamsud-din Ali, in wire-tapped conversations.
Federal authorities are attempting to link the Muslim cleric to a drug network engaged in extortion and money laundering but have not charged him with any crime.
However, Ali's wife, Faridah Ali, and several others including her two adult children were indicted in a reputed scheme to defraud the city by siphoning money from a state-financed education program.
The sprawling investigations are not unusual, according to Political Science Professor Henry Teune.
"Pennsylvania is a state that always has a few hundred public officials under investigation not just in Philadelphia but elsewhere in the state," Teune said. "When I was in graduate school, it was known as one of the most corrupt states."
"Is it worthy of the expectations of our young people? Certainly not - but it's a lot better than before," Teune added. "We'll have to wait and see what'll happen with these trials, but these things take a long time. - Guys like Street can die in the meantime."
