From tonight's Nelson Report:

SUMMARY: with just over one week to go, as some polls show the race in Pennsylvania getting very very close, trade has become an increasingly complex part of the fight for the Democratic nomination.

No one knows, least of all the Democratic Leadership, whether last week's stunning "take back" on the Colombia FTA's Fast Track coverage will turn out to be a one-off tactical maneuver, or the end of 40 years of accepted practice.

And for the first time this year, Hillary has put China in the center of the presidential debate, calling for increased enforcement in the same breath as rebuilding the US industrial base.

Obama, meanwhile, seems to have shot himself in the foot, again, and appears increasingly to resemble Adlai Stevenson more than is deemed comfortable (by the elites) for the Democratic base.

But just when his backers seem close to despair, he stands tall and clear, as before a Labor group in Pennsylvania today. Consistently, Obama has been able to explain his way out of trouble...could it be that the US electorate is smarter than Clinton and McCain seem to think?

POLITICS/TRADE...in our Summary we implied (deliberately, please note) a common elitist conceit, namely that the rank and file US electorate really isn't all that smart.

In fact, we can personally testify from four years of "exile" in Central Florida during the early 1970's, the folks out there are just as smart as us Washington elites, often even smarter.

What they usually are not, however, is immersed in the day to day thinking and practice of government, and especially strategic thinking and planning.

The result is that they can be called "unsophisticated" if one defines sophistication as being comfortable with the daily concerns and conversation here.

One result of that can look like gullibility, a certain naivte when confronted, especially for the first time, with a slick argument, or, especially, a sophisticated campaign of misdirection.

But by and large, a life in and around politics has taught us, sooner or later the folks will hear you pretty accurately, and take your measure.

That's the bet that Barack Obama seems to make, or take, a little too frequently for blood pressure of his inner circle, one suspects, and he was at it again in San Francisco recently, holding-forth on the thinking and motivation of Rust Belt and Small Town Americans under stress from globalization and economic downturns.

Here's what he actually said:

"But the truth is, is that, our challenge is to get people persuaded that we can make progress when there's not evidence of that in their daily lives. You go into some of these small towns in Pennsylvania, and like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing's replaced them. And they fell through the Clinton administration, and the Bush administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not. So it's not surprising then that they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations."

Hummm....guns, religion, trade and immigrants, all in the same breath. Here's the fun Clinton had with this today:

"I am well aware that at a fundraiser in San Francisco, he said some things that many people in Pennsylvania and beyond Pennsylvania have found offensive. He was explaining to a small group of his donors what people who live in small towns right here in Pennsylvania are like and why some of you aren't voting for him. But instead of looking at himself, he blamed them.

"He said that they cling to religion and guns and dislike people who are different from them. Well, I don't believe that. I believe that people don't cling to religion, they value their faith. You don't cling to guns, you enjoy hunting or collecting or sport shooting.

"I don't think he really gets it that people are looking for a president who stands up for you and not looks down on you."

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It's an axiom of politics that if you find yourself constantly "explaining what I meant", you probably shouldn't have said it in the first place.

Especially in the electronic communication age, the sound-bite regime that passes for commercial radio and TV "news" does not lend itself to giving even the President more than a few sentences before a summary (if he's lucky) is substituted for "coverage".

Sure you can get the whole speech or explanation on cable, blogs, or by downloading the whole article from a newspaper website, but how many average voters have the time, energy, or even the interest for that?

Sure PBS and NPR are fabulous. But check the ratings.

So you ("you" being a candidate or current official) had better get it right the first time, on balance, or pretty soon you will be an ex-candidate or office holder.

Obama seems to be stretching the voter's attention and patience this year, and it may yet be the deciding factor for him if his San Francisco ruminations about small town religion and guns turns out to be a real gaffe, and not something that, once "explained" parses better than his opponents would like.

In that direction...a surprise endorsement today by the revered owner of The Pittsburgh Steelers football team, Art Rooney, may well prove more persuasive to the "average" Pa Dem than what they hear about Obama from either Hillary or McCain:

"This is not something that I do regularly but as I listen to the candidates in this race, I am struck that we continue to hear about the problems and the same challenges that we have been talking about for decades. Protecting jobs here in Pennsylvania, breaking our dangerous and costly addiction to foreign oil, making health care accessible and affordable - these are neither new issues nor new ideas. And yet we have failed to make real progress.

As a grandfather and a citizen of this community I think Barack Obama's, thoughtful, strategic approach is important for America. When I hear how excited young people seem to be when they talk about this man, I believe he will do what is best for them which is to inspire them to be great Americans.

This time, we can't afford to wait. Our country needs a new direction and a new kind of leadership - the kind of leadership, judgment and experience that Senator Obama has demonstrated in more than 20 years of public service, and in a particularly impressive way in this campaign. Senator Obama has rejected the say-and-do anything tactics that puts winning elections ahead of governing the country. And he has rejected the back-room politics in favor of opening government up to the people. Barack Obama is the one candidate in this race who can finally put an end to business as usual in Washington and bring about real change for Pittsburgh and the country as a whole. He has inspired me and so many other people around our country with new ideas and fresh perspectives.

True sports fans know that you support your team even when they are the underdogs. Barack Obama is the underdog here but it is with great pride that I join his team."