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In the COMMONWEALTH 
Gerard J. Fitzpatrick, Editor 

It seems fitting that four of the five articles in this volume of the Penn­
sylvania Political Science Association's professional journal concern poli­
tics in Pennsylvania. Moreover, these Pennsylvania focused pieces speak 
to a variety of political science subfields, including political economy, presi­
dential elections, voting behavior, and state government. Providing some 
topical balance while further extending the fields of interest addressed in 
this issue of COMMONWEALTH, the one non-Pennsylvania essay involves 
international relations and political theory. In short, ours may be a small 
journal but it consistently covers much academic territory. 

In our lead article, Dr. Gordon P. Henderson underscores the connec­
tions between political philosophy and international politics by explor­
ing the thought of Immanuel Kant with regard to the place of morality in 
foreign affairs. He not only illuminates the theoretical tension between 
the moral and the political on the world stage, but he also brings these 
abstract ideas to bear on the contemporary debate between "realists" 
and "idealists" in foreign affairs. Kant's teachings, Dr. Henderson con­
cludes, support a cautious optimism with regard to the prospects for 
peace among nations. 

Among the most contentious topics in recent years has been the North 
American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Dr. Paul G. Kengor and R. 
C. Phinney examine the impact of NAFTA on Pennsylvania. They find 
that despite the claim of critics that the treaty would harm the state's 
economy by causing an exodus of manufacturing jobs to foreign nations, 
NAFTA has in fact helped Pennsylvania by significantly increasing its 
overseas exports. While their findings do not resolve the debate over job 
losses or other controversial aspects of NAFTA, they indicate that there 
is more to the free trade debate than meets the eve . 

.I 

One of the most significant df'velopments in prf'sidential elec­
toral politics has been the recent trend toward "frontloading," the pro­
cess whereby states schedule their presidential primaries increasingly 
early in hope of having more influence in determining the party nomi­
nees. Through a comparison of Pennsylvania and Ohio in the presiden­
tial nominating process, Dr. James E. Vike explains why our state has 
eschewed the frontloading trend, even though scheduling presidential 
primaries earlier would likely increase candidate competitiveness, cam­
paign activity, voter choice, and voter turnout. 



Berwood Yost explains why Republicans control most statewide of­
fices in Pennsylvarua, as well as both houses of the state legislature, even 
though Democrats have a decided edge in voter registration. Using a 
random survey of Pennsylvania voters to probe the difference between 
party orientation and party registration, he finds that more Democrats in 
Pennsylvania identify with the Republican Party than vice versa, indi­
cating that party identification is a better predictor of voting behavior 
than is party registration. He also identifies some intriguing geographic 
patterns in the distribution of these "misaligned voters." 

This issue of COMMONWEALTH closes with a special feature: the 
address of former Pennsylvania House Speaker Herbert Fineman to the 
2003 meeting of the Pennsylvania Political Science Association, with com­
mentary by Michael Cassidy. Few people know our state legislature as 
well as Mr. Cassidy does, for he has worked there for a quarter of a cen­
tury as a member, staff assistant, and scholar. In his commentary, he 
traces the crucial role Speaker Fineman played in bringing about institu­
tional reform in Pennsylvania, and he places reform developments in the 
state within the context of the larger legislative modernization movement. 

As always, this issue of COMMONWEALTH would not have been 
possible without quality submissions and quality reviews. I therefore ex­
tend my deepest thanks to the authors and anonymous referees with whom 
I have worked during the past year. By contributing their time and talent, 
they have helped to make ours an ever better professional journal. Un­
fortunately, we continue to receive only a small number of manuscripts, 
most of which are rejected. If issues of COMMONWEALTH as strong as 
this one are to be produced in a timely manner, readers must submit their 
work for consideration and urge their colleagues to do so too. 


