given its electoral votes to the Republican candidate since 1988. The state??s urban, suburban and rural voters usually give winners narrower victories than Obama??s 10-point win in 2008. John Kerry won by 2.5 percentage points in 2004; Al Gore won by 4.2 in 2000. The state is a tempting target for candidates in close races. It has two more electoral votes than the 18 up for grabs in Ohio, the focus of more campaign activity in the past few weeks than any other state. ??Some people call it fool??s gold. Republicans come close but it just doesn??t happen at the end of the day,?_ Lee said. It could be different for the GOP this year, Lee said. Pennsylvania??s unemployment rate surpassed the national average in September after remaining below average throughout the recession. In Ohio, where both campaigns have spent far more time and money, the unemployment rate was 7 percent in September, more than a percentage point lower than Pennsylvania??s 8.2 percent. ??There is no president who only deals with what happens during his four years,?_ said Lorraine Gregor, 61, a Democrat from McKees Rocks. ??I don??t care who the president would??ve been when Barack Obama took office; we would be talking about the same thing today.?_ The national unemployment rate was 7.9 percent in October, when employers added 171,000 jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. ??I just don??t feel that President Obama is doing the job at all. What has he accomplished??_ said Roger Briggs, 67,