A longtime Western Pennsylvania politician once said, “You run with the top of the ticket when you can, and run away from it when you have to.”

Which explains U.S. Rep. Jason Altmire’s short answer as to whether he will campaign in his district with Barack Obama: He’ll “consider it.”

Altmire -– a previous skeptic of offshore drilling who now supports it, pitting him against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi -– said it will depend on when the presumptive nominee comes to town and if their schedules mesh.

“I am not going to avoid it,” he added.

“He is probably not going to run to it, either,” says one Democrat strategist who, for obvious reasons, isn’t eager to have his name used.

Altmire represents Pennsylvania’s 4th Congressional District, a swath of Reagan Democrat geography in the western corridor that went overwhelmingly for Hillary Clinton in this year’s primary and significantly for George W. Bush in 2004.

Altmire’s apparent hesitancy to coordinate a schedule with Obama has nothing to do with Obama’s race and everything to do with the perception of him as a liberal Democrat, which is a different world to people who live in this district.

“My suspicion is that he would have avoided high-profile visits with Mike Dukakis, too, given the chance,” the same strategist adds.

Altmire said he takes the word “represent” seriously, far more so than he does the labels “Democrat” or “Republican.” During Pennsylvania’s primary, he did not endorse Clinton or Obama. When Obama secured the nomination, Altmire said he would support the nominee -– still avoiding an all-out endorsement.

“He is running a brilliant campaign,” notes a Republican campaign staffer working on other congressional races. “Certainly, it is what I would have advised him to do.” Continued...