HARRISBURG - He scooped water ice into cups for dozens of people on a sweltering hot day, autographed footballs for little kids and adults alike, and jumped up on a stage before several thousand people and sang - solo and a cappella - just to win them over. That's how former Pittsburgh Steeler Lynn Swann, more accustomed to dashing in and out of crowds than trying to woo them, has been spending his days recently as he wraps up the first of several expected statewide bus tours this summer in his quest for the governorship.Although he garnered mostly good reviews along the way - both from the public and in the media - it remains a question mark whether Swann's recent and aggressive campaign push will help jump-start his flagging campaign. Supporters insist that after a series of early gaffes and general campaign disorganization, Swann is finally doing what he needs to be doing: going out on the road and talking to voters, while also minding the campaign bank account. Former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, for instance, is scheduled to travel to King of Prussia on Wednesday to help raise money for him. Later this month, there is another fund-raiser scheduled for Swann, in Virginia, organized by Republican National Committee finance chairman Dwight Schar. And there has been talk for weeks that President Bush will come in August to raise funds for Swann, although Swann's staff will not confirm it.
"I think his campaign had a slow start, but they are pulling things together now," said Renee Amoore, the state GOP's deputy chair. But there are still deep doubts that Swann is too far behind Gov. Ed Rendell - not just in political gravitas, but in campaign cash - to catch up. And if he doesn't show upward movement in the polls by Labor Day, many believe that this fall's governor's race could turn into a lock for Rendell. "The single biggest threat right now to Swann is if he's not successful in moving the polls," said Chris Borick, director of Muhlenberg College's Institute of Public Opinion. "If the perception," Borick added, "is that he's not gaining momentum, that there's no energy, then the concern becomes: Will he be able to raise the kind of money to stage the kind of statewide media campaign necessary to win the election?"