For one who comes from the machine-dominated politics of Illinois, you would think Barak Obama would know better. It is one thing in the suburbs or the rolling green-hill campuses of college towns, where hordes of dedicated Obama volunteers are just that, volunteers.

But in the nitty-gritty gutter politics of Philadelphia, you don’t get anyone to volunteer for anything unless you pay "Street Money." While many believe that street money is a vestige of Tammany Hall or the Prendergast machine, it is not only well and alive in Philadelphia, but enshrined within the Pennsylvania Election Code, making it perfectly legal to pay street money (up to $120 per person) each Election Day. Even us Republicans, despite having such a minimal impact that’s no better than a minor party, still have to pay our poll workers street money. We also have to pay the Election Board members — the Judge and Inspectors of Elections, the clerks and machine operators — lunch and dinner on top of the $90 they get from the Elections Board. As the Republican Ward chairman, I usually provide everyone with pizza for lunch, fried chicken for dinner.

And this is where Obama is running into serious trouble. He refuses to pay street money to the Democratic machine. Hillary Clinton, on the other hand, is paying street money. Up to $500,000 of it. And it isn’t for want of funds, as Obama has raised $234 million, almost twice what Clinton has raised and three times to McCain’s paltry $75 million. Yet he won’t spare a dime to pay for people on the street. The $50 or $100 we politicians pay as street money is, in reality, a small gratitude for people up at 6 AM to work a 15 hour day, usually standing on your feet, greeting hundreds of folks which by 3 PM is a pasted-on smile, due to the monotony of it all.

And my good friend, House Appropriations Committee Chairman Dwight Evans was quoted by the Los Angeles Times accusing Obama of playing the race card, albeit in reverse. Obama has spent outlandish sums on television commercials, outdoing Clinton by over two to one in TV spots. We all know where that money goes to, straight to the bottom line of Walt Disney, News Corp., GE and Comcast. The last I checked most, if not all of the directors and officers are high-income, white, clubhouse card toting members . . . you get the picture.

Street money, on the other hand, pays real people what is to them, real money. In the inner-urban black wards of North Philly, a $100 puts some extra food on the table, pays for some additional bus tokens, and allows mom to splurge at Mickey Ds. They see Obama dressed in fine clothing, spending millions on TV, but can’t spare a C note for his supporters in the ‘Hood.

It’s bad enough that Obama won’t eat a Cheesesteak at Pat’s in South Philly. Maybe it’s because he’s conceded the low/middle-income angry white vote to Hillary. But to "diss his People" is not only utterly nonsensical, but downright arrogant. Coming across as self-righteous simply won’t wash. Everyone knows when in Rome, you do as the Romans do.

Greg Paulmier, my Germantown colleague across the aisle as the Democratic 12th Ward Leader complained that Obama’s refusal to pay street money is fodder for his opponents. "I’m surprised as to how many Black leaders ‘don’t trust Obama. The smoother he talks, the more they question him." When reminded that Obama has raised almost a quarter of a billion dollars, Paulmier’s sardonic response was he’s not getting any of it from the big corporations and lobbyists. It was tempting to this Democratic leader to lump Obama with Clinton and McCain, complaining "they’re all dogs."

Obama was closing the gap in his race with Clinton. The various polls show Hillary’s lead, on average, narrowing to a 10 point spread. Real Clear Politics point spread shows Clinton up only a plus 7.6. This is a far cry from the twenty point spread a month ago.

But, polls are simply that, polls. If the Philly machine takes its marbles and goes home, Obama’s once magical lead among Black voters will just as magically disappear. And Obama’s momentum will be more than disrupted, his credibility among the Democratic Super Delegates will likewise come under scrutiny as Clinton questions whether Obama can actually win in November. Because Obama’s refusal to pay street money in Philly clearly suggests that Obama doesn’t listen to fat, old, Irish pols, like that one from Boston who remarked "all politics is local." By the way, if he were still alive, he would be a Super Delegate. How do you think Tip O’Neil would have voted?