Here’s an illuminating note from the editor:

I know darn well there are readers out there right now who scrutinize the daily paper for evidence of nefarious media bias. So I hate to hand them a front-page example on a silver platter. I heard about it quick enough last week when we wrongfully reported there was no John McCain headquarters in Hanover. They let us know about it less than an hour after the story of a Barack Obama HQ in Hanover hit the streets. We decided to do a story on the new Democratic HQ after a staffer noticed it setting up shop on Frederick Street, right around the corner from the newspaper. The old-timers said a campaign storefront was a rarity around here – especially a Democratic one – so it seemed like legitimate news. No one in the office that day had heard of a John McCain headquarters in Hanover; in fact, we’ve yet to see a press release. And, apparently, the state GOP public information guy hadn’t heard about it either, because he “confirmed” there wasn’t one and said there were no plans for one when we called to check and get a quote. But there it is, over in the Grandview Shopping Center on the south end of town. So we wrote a correction and owe the McCain folks a story – which they’ll get this week for their official grand opening.

Two observations:

1. This means that the local newspaper had not spoken to the local people running McCain’s campaign in any substantive way. They were, apparently, waiting for a press release and relying on the state GOP for their local information. Hanover, Pa., isn’t that big a place. You’d think somebody writing about the presidential race would know there was a McCain headquarters in town.

2. The McCain campaign is planning a grand opening … now? It’s not like Pennsylvania’s an important state or anything. Memo to GOP: To be competitive, you have to compete.