BUT WHO WILL PROTECT THE BLACKSMITH INDUSTRY?:

[C]onversations with actual residents, local politicians, and a comb of public opinion data suggest perspectives on fracking in Pennsylvania are changing faster than top Democrats--and the president who seems to think it will save him--realize.

According to the NPR project StateImpact Pennsylvania, the state has nearly 8,000 active natural gas wells, and many--more than 1,100--are in Washington County, which is south of Pittsburgh. Pennsylvania's natural gas and oil industry employs about 26,000 people, according to advocacy group Food and Water Watch.

Recent polls show Pennsylvanians generally are mixed on the practice. A joint CBS and YouGov poll from August showed 52 percent of Pennsylvanians oppose fracking with 48 percent approving. Another August poll prepared by Democratic firm Global Strategy Group for the advocacy group Climate Power 2020 showed that while 61 percent of Pennsylvanians had a favorable view of the natural gas industry, only 32 percent had a favorable view of the fracking industry, compared to 50 percent unfavorable.

According to Andrew Baumann, a researcher for Global Strategy Group, the same poll showed similar numbers for Pittsburgh, the largest city in western Pennsylvania: 38 percent favorable compared to 51 percent unfavorable. Statewide, only 8 percent are "very" favorable toward the fracking industry, Baumann added--and that number was just 9 percent for Pittsburgh in his firm's data.

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