I love how the pundit class (and, perhaps more appropriately here, the wanna-be pundit class) has already decided that Specter’s smear campaign is utterly effective and has sealed the deal.

Here’s what Lawrence says: “For a while it appeared Sestak might have a chance to overtake Specter with a big media push in the final stage of the campaign. But with less than three weeks left and Specter’s campaign in full-fledged attack mode, that seems less likely.”

Except…it doesn’t seem “less likely” at all. Polls are now showing a dramatic narrowing of the gap between Specter and Sestak. Just today, the Inquirer is reporting on one poll that a month ago showed a 23 point gap and is now down to just 9 points with three weeks to go.

There is a massive top-down effort to marginalize Joe Sestak and the grassroots Democrats who have totally been taken for granted by their leadership in this race. And writers who want to cozy favor with the party big shots are only too happy to write what they want to hear: that Arlen is fitting in comfortably with the Democratic Party he just joined. But PA Democratic voters aren’t buying.

Three weeks from now, they are going to make their voices heard loud and clear: give us Democratic candidates, not warmed-over Republicans that have fought against everything we hold dear for the past 30 years.

I left the comment above, but didn’t leave my name. Here it is.