Since Sept. 11, endless commentators have said the world changed once the first jet slammed into the World Trade Center.

Former Philadelphia Mayor Edward Rendell, speaking Saturday before his keynote address at the Mercer County Democrat Committee's fall dinner, said the terrorist attacks "rekindled people's belief that government matters."

"Before Sept. 11 it became pretty fashionable to say, 'We want government out of our lives. We want the government that governs least,'" Rendell said. "On 9-11, and the days directly thereafter, did people want no government? Of course not. They wanted the best police and the best fire. They wanted the best emergency sources. When devastated New York looked for money to rebuild, did they go to the private sector? Or did they go to the government? They went to the government."

At the heart of American government is the electoral process. Rendell said he wanted to thank the movers and shakers in local politics.

"What they do isn't just elect candidates, or help elect candidates," he said. "By electing candidates, they change outcomes. They improve the quality of people's lives."

The former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, Rendell described the Democratic Party as the party that believes in government.

"That doesn't mean we believe government should do everything for you or interfere in your private lives," he said. "We believe government should and can make a difference in people's lives. If you want the government that governs least, you wouldn't have Social Security. You wouldn't have Medicare. Think of the difference in our senior citizens' lives not having those two government programs would make."

A gubernatorial candidate, Rendell said he has been active at a grass-roots level trying to dissuade people from easily dismissing him as a "Philadelphia candidate."

"I am keenly aware that people are very wary about candidates from Philadelphia," he said. "I have campaigned, basically, going to localities and talking to people. I've been in Mercer County twice this year before this, and I've talked to groups of 35, 40, 60 people at a time to try to get to know them and them get to know me and the things I believe in and the things I stand for. I think that's building a good foundation."

Although Rendell likes to try to stay out of local politics -- "I have enough trouble with my own campaign," he said -- he has a fair grasp on a couple of key Mercer County issues.

"Of course, the mayor's race in Sharon is interesting because you have two Democrats," he said.

Democrat Dave Ryan is facing Lou Rotunno, a long-time Democrat who is running as Republican.

Rendell said he hopes people don't look at the resignation of Republican Mercer County Commissioner Brian Shipley as indicative of government as a whole.

"Government is a tough business," Rendell said. "Government plays out entirely in the public sphere, so people say, 'Oh, these guys in government are always getting in trouble.' I would contend that people in government make as many mistakes and as many sins as people in business, for example. But we just don't read about them in business. In government, you read about them. Obviously what the commissioner did was not good from the standpoint of using public funds for that. There's no way that that's appropriate conduct and probably resigning was the best thing, but I don't have all the facts."

You can e-mail Herald Staff Writer Joe Pinchot at

jpinchot@sharon-herald.com