I’ve been at the polling place in Nether Providence Township since 6:15 AM. It’s impossible to know how things are really going, but here’s how it feels on the ground in our little sliver of the Philly burbs:

In the morning, the Republican base was out. They’re always there. This is a majority Republican district by registration, and it’s a community that votes. Hopes of a disgraced and discouraged Republican base staying away from the polls are, to my senses, wishful thinking. This is a fairly affluent, mostly white suburb, still tied to a county GOP machine. Your mileage may vary.

There are plenty of Republicans who will gladly tell you for whom they’re splitting their tickets.

The Democrats who are showing up to the polls are often angry. They don’t like the sleezey way that their candidates were attacked. One lady railed on the local GOP commissioner for more than five minutes about the disgusting ads that our local state rep, Tom Gannon, lobbed at his Democratic opponent, Bryan Lentz (PA-House 161). Others were suspicious and mad about the awkwardness of our polling site. This is probably a reaction to the national mood. Our local judge of elections, though a member of the other party, plays it straight and clean. I don’t think you’d come across a more civil and fair election board anywhere. Both parties work together at our site to make it work right.

Dems are motivated, and Republicans are still coming out, although we don’t know how they’re splitting their tickets.

The one thing I’m sure of: the independents are with us. That’s the group that’s approaching the outside workers and saying, “I’m an independent, but I’m voting straight Democrat this time.” I’d be willing to bet that the registered “NP’s” are voting so overwhlemingly in our favor that if I were a Democratic operative, I’d play the numbers game and turnout independents, period.

If I were a Republican in this neighborhood, I’d be allergic to every NP voter unless I had a voter ID from a previous canvass already in pocket.

By 2:00, our precinct, which has over 900 voters, had already seen 370 walk through the doors. We have an additional 31 absentee ballots returned.

My son came in and helped his mom and dad vote. He made sure we did it just right.

Now we’re at home. Our polls are staffed well and its the slow hour. In an hour, I’m taking some Tylenol and heading back out.

We spent the morning at a big full-slate rally in our neighborhood. My wife was grateful to be out of town, so our little democrat went with his dad.

We met cheerful, young Casey Roncaglione. Our good buddy Bryan Lentz got up and proved to be a very effective at talking to a large crowd. (We see big things in his future!) Sestak’s volunteer army was worked up and he got a nice boost from Sen. Max Cleland. Then we had an upbeat Bob Casey, followed by the boyishly enthusiastic Ed Rendell. The headliner was Al Gore, who tied everything back together with a call for us to repair American democracy.

The boy’s favorite speaker was Max Cleland. He really liked the former senator’s line “Don’t wait until O-eight. Get it fixed in O-six.” When he heard that, he looked down at me from his perch up on my shoulders and said “He’s really funny. That was a good one.”

After the speeches were done, he was very happy to shake Cleland’s hand and say “Hi.”

PSotD noted Peggy Noonan’s weepy editorial in the WSJ: “We Need His Kind: In praise of Rick Santorum.”

Oh, Poor Rick. Poor, poor Rick. He is being punished for candor, don’t you know. As proof of his decency, he shared with a journalist how much he feels for Bob Casey:

We pray for the Caseys every night. We know it’s as hard for them as it is for us.

Indeed, it is a big-hearted man who can pray for an opponent who suffers the insults that you sling at him daily. Maybe Rick ought to tend to his own soul and pray for forgiveness.

Karen Santorum is distressed that we don’t see the kind, tender side of her husband. Peggy Noonan sheds tears for a misunderstood crusader for social justice.

But the Pennsylvanians who know Santorum’s public self know a different Rick Santorum. His disastrously wrong-minded policies aside, we see a career grandstander. Our Rick is a guy who uses every chance to attack his opponents; to scoldingly disapprove of how other decent people live their lives; to mock others with a smug pursing of the lips. He sure loved to let us all know how pious he was, but we rarely witnessed his humility.

If Rick Santorum is the sweetheart in his private life that others say he is, the greatest thing to mourn about his political career is that he could never behave in public with the same humane goodness that he supposedly shows to those who share his home, his side of the aisle, or his pew.

Peggy Noonan can weep for the man on the soapbox, but we Pennsylvanians will welcome the peace and quiet.

For those who may have missed it on Sunday, Santorum and Casey debated on Meet the Press. I provide this synopsis so that you won’t regret missing it.

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The PA Senate race has tightened in recent polls. While Santorum still struggles with his strong negatives, Casey’s favorables are not yet solidified in the public mind. Admitting that he will always suffer somewhat in the eyes of the liberal wing of the party for his stance on social issues, it still seems to me that Casey presents as being a more likeable figure than I have previously considered him to be. I hope that he’s hitting his stride. After years of a somewhat wooden public persona, he seems to have actually learned to smile and relax a little bit.

Of all the issues he’s going to have on Rick Santorum this year, I think the residency issue should be the one that is the killer for Santorum. Forget getting bogged down in pea-shooting over issues. Just make sure that there isn’t a single Pennslvanian who hasn’t heard that Rick’s in VA, not PA.

My unsolicited three part messaging strategy for Bob Casey this Fall:

Part 1: You thought you knew him, but have you met Bob Casey lately? Now with 75% more smiling!

Part 2: Had it with the Bush? Rick Santorum invented the rubber stamp, even pushing his dopey scheme for Social Security and the donut hole in Medicaire. [Pennsylvania is old. Seniors vote.]

Part 3: Ricky don’t live here no more. Can you believe that? How can he be the senator from Pennsylvania when he doesn’t even live in Pennsylvania?

It’s just one of those things. Unless you’re a 700 Club wingnut, how do you get yourself pumped to go vote for the guy who doesn’t even want to live with you anymore? It’s just bad politics. What’s he going to hit back with? “Yeah, well Bob came in late a few days at work. And he has a monobrow. Nya-nya-nya?”