RENDELL'S POLITICAL SAVVY IS.

Byline: Bob Warner

Sep. 29--SUCCESSFUL politicians find ways to relate to all sorts of people, and Ed Rendell is among the most successful of his generation.

Addressing a distracted crowd of 1,500 postal-union delegates at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in August, Rendell promises to disclose why the Philadelphia cheesesteak has not been replicated by cooks outside the city. "First, they use good meat," the governor says of the out-of-town cooks, drawing laughter and attention from several hundred visiting postal workers. "You need the fattiest, stringiest meat to get a proper taste... The second mistake is, they use real cheese. Real cheese doesn't melt like Cheez Whiz... And third, when they fry their onions, they actually drain off the grease. You can't do that."

Philadelphia's superior methods "produce the single-best taste sensation you will ever have," Rendell tells the crowd. And if the postal employees don't have the chance to visit the most famous cheesesteak vendors in South Philadelphia, the governor tells the out-of-towners they can get a quite-credible version at the Reading Terminal Market, just down the street. Promoting the local economy, one cheesesteak at a time. Since 1968, when the Pennsylvania Constitution was changed to permit two-term governors, no incumbent has lost a re-election bid, even those without Rendell's political skills. Besides his ability to connect with potential voters, he maintains a punishing schedule of public appearances, and he's the most effective political fundraiser in…