By JAMES O'TOOLE, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Fatal shootings in Binghamton, N.Y., and Pittsburgh prompted renewed calls for stricter gun control from traditional advocates such as the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and the Rev. Jesse Jackson. But such calls haven't echoed in the halls of Congress or in statehouses across the country.

Waves of boos and cheers broke against one another last night as Joe Wurzelbacher, aka Joe the Plumber, aimed a message of populist skepticism at unions and politicians of both parties in a packed Pittsburgh area ballroom.