What a back-handed endorsement of ultra-liberal Sen. Bob Casey Jr. by the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, which is probably the most conservative newspaper in Pennsylvania: "Despite our policy differences with Casey, we prefer the Democrat we know to the Republican of convenience."

Apparently, the newspaper doesn't trust businessman Tom Smith because he spent most of his life as a registered Democrat before he switched to the Republican Party and defeated several better-known candidates for the right to challenge Casey.

Pretty harsh words against Smith. Wasn't Ronald Reagan a Democrat before he saw the light?

The race still comes down to far-left Casey, who has rubber-stamped the failed Obama agenda over the past four years or a "conservative Democrat" who is pushing fiscal restraint, smaller government and accountability.

The Tribune-Review editorial says Casey is a nice guy who has treated Republican Sen. Pat Toomey, a conservative idol, with respect, but the bottom line is that Tom Smith's platform is a lot closer to Toomey's than it is to Bob Casey's.

Sending Mr. Smith to Washington as part of a Republican majority in the Senate would go a long way to repairing the damage Barack Obama has done over the past four years.