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The last two days of campaigning have certainly highlighted the core base that each of the major presidential candidates are trying to cement going forward.

On Sunday, John Kerry campaigned in Bethlehem, Pa. For those of you unfamiliar with Bethlehem, it's one of the rust belt cities that have been gutted by the loss of manufacturing jobs and capability in the U.S. Kerry's message was simple - jobs. According to an acquaintance that was on hand for the speech (which was held at a local high school gym), more people had to be turned away than could attend because of the big turnout.

On Monday, George Bush campaigned in Ardmore, Pa. For those of you not familiar with Ardmore, this suburb of Philadelphia epitomizes urban flight. It's an upper-middle class, basically white suburb of the big city. Bush's message was home ownership, and how that piece of the "American Dream" translates to national security. (I kid you not). My guess is that Dubya's handlers kept him in the cocoon, in a very controlled environment.

I just thought the contrast was, well, quite telling. It occurs to me that it's difficult to own a home when you either don't have a job or are working at a job that pays you little better than minimum wage. Seems to me that Bush is once again putting the cart before the horse. At least he's consistent.