Vice President Edward G. Rendell?

Buzz Bissinger makes the case for a Vice-Presidential candidate from Pennsylvania:

There are a number of conventional reasons for Barack Obama to consider Mr. Rendell, who is now serving his second term as governor of Pennsylvania, as his running mate this fall. In the same indefatigable fashion that Mr. Rendell delivered a nine-point win for Hillary Clinton in the April Democratic primary in Pennsylvania, he could deliver this crucial swing state to Mr. Obama come November. Mr. Rendell is popular statewide, and, more important in a presidential election, he continues to maintain Herculean strength in the suburbs surrounding Philadelphia, a traditional Republican stronghold that John McCain must do well in to have any chance of gaining the state...

It's his very unconventionality that makes him such an intriguing choice.

Craving some pizzazz to counter the watch-your-back mentality that has become Washington politics? Pick Rendell.

Want passion, candor, off-the-cuff gems, moments of keen insight? Pick Rendell.

It's true that his one real foray into national politics, as Democratic National Committee chair under Al Gore when Mr. Gore was running for president, ended up in what some would say was excommunication because of a tendency to speak out of turn. But that's what makes Mr. Rendell arguably the most refreshing politician in the country...

While Mr. Bissinger may make a convincing argument, It is my belief that Gov. Rendell will not be the Vice-Presidential candidate. As my proof, I present the following 1,000 words:



However, I wouldn't be surprised if you see Ed Rendell as, say, Secretary of Energy sometime after January 2011.

Economic Duhvelopment

OK, for you Economic Development yinzers "aht" there, the big announcement previously anticipated here by Fast Eddie Rendell was a big Turkey.

From the Post-Gazette:

Citizens Bank and Gov. Ed Rendell announced today the bank will be adding 500 new jobs at its call centers across the state, 250 of them at its Pittsburgh headquarters on William Penn Place, Downtown.

Ralph J. Papa, president of Citizens Bank's western region, said the bank expects to fill more than 200 of the local positions by August. The jobs will range from supervisory to entry level positions and will have mostly evening hours, he said.

The bank also expects to provide additional training to 1,525 current employees. Rendell said the Governor's Action Team that oversees business expansion projects has agreed to provide Citizens with $400,000 in an Opportunity Grant and $475,000 in Job Creation Tax Credits to support the new jobs.

Yawn.

Jobs: GOOD! Call Centers: Bad!

Call Centers are low value added jobs for the region. Take a few dozen people out of their MickeyD's uniforms, place them in front of phones in a giant warehouse and BOOM!, insta-Call Center. Sure, they produce jobs, but they don't produce wealth generating jobs. Additionally, there's nothing intrinsic about the Pittsburgh region that would stop Citizens from outsourcing these jobs to India.

This is not smart Economic Development; this is ass-backwards smokestack chasing. [Try to shake THAT imagery out of your head.]

'Burgh Stories

For my policy inclined yinzer friends, I stumbled across a couple of stories that you may or may not have caught:

First, for those of you who are interested in transit, two of the major foundations are putting up some cash towards the design and construction of the Gateway Center Station for the new North Shore light rail expansion.

Second, Fast Eddie Rendell is going to have an important economic "announcement" for Da Burgh on Monday. Stay tuned.

Third, the Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh is laying off about 7.5% of its staff because of a $3.5 Million shortfall. This is following the massive layoffs that the city undertook a few months ago.

More later