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October 2008
“The Boss” to rally with the Obamas in Cleveland
Bruce Springsteen will join Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama and his wife Michelle for a rally on Sunday, Nov. 2, in Cleveland.
It’s the second of three Ohio Obama rallies on Sunday. It starts at 3:45 p.m. and doors open at 2 p.m.
The first rally at 1 p.m. on the West Plaza of the Statehouse in Columbus, with doors opening at 11 a.m.
Obama will finish the day at a 9 p.m. rally at Nippert Stadium at the University of Cincinnati, 2700 Bearcats Way. Doors open at 6 p.m.
Michelle Obama also will be in Columbus, but not Cincinnati.
In Cleveland, “The Boss” will perform an acoustical set. Springsteen also appeared with Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry in Cleveland in 2004 to wind up Kerry’s campaign.
The rallies are free and no tickets are required but an RSVP is encouraged. To RSVP, click here.
More photos from outside the Biden rally
A few more sights from outside the Biden rally at James S. Trent Arena:
Boehner calls Obama a barnyard name
U.S. House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-West Chester, is a McCain man in the race for president and doesn’t think much of Democrat Barack Obama.
That was apparent on Wednesday, Oct. 29, when Boehner stumped for fellow Republican McCain at the Brick Street Bar and Grill in Oxford and used a barnyard term to describe Obama.
According to the Miami Student, the newspaper at Miami University, Boehner complained about Obama’s practice of voting “present” rather than “yes” or “no” while in the Illinois Senate.
Here’s what Boehner said, according to the paper:
“In Congress, we have a red button, a green button and a yellow button, alright. Green means ‘yes’, red means ‘no’ and yellow means you’re a chicken shit. And the last thing we need in the White House, in the oval office, behind that big desk, is some chicken who wants to push the yellow button.”
Don Seymour Jr., a spokesman for Boehner, explained it this way in an e-mail:
“Boehner’s point was that Barack Obama consistently avoided making tough decisions and taking tough votes, and voters need to know that. You can’t take a pass on a tough issue when you’re President of the United States.”
Obama campaign spokesman Tom Reynolds had this response:
“It’s sad that John McCain and his supporters are closing their campaign with increasingly angry, desperate, false attacks instead of offering up a single thing John McCain would do differently on the economy than George Bush.
“Barack Obama can handle four more days of John McCain’s attacks, but the people of Ohio can’t afford four more years of the same failed policies.”
University of Virginia political scientist Larry Sabato said in an e-mail that Boehner was out of bounds:
“That’s completely inappropriate and rude, far beneath a congressional leader. The individual he is describing with an obscenity may be the next President with whom he will have to work.
“Politicians often wonder why they are held in such disrepute. Here’s a prime example. We expect more from elementary students.”
According to the Web site FactCheck.org, Obama voted “present” 129 times in his eight years in the Illinois Senate, a little more than 3 percent of his total votes.
To read the full story, click here.
Happy Halloween from the James S. Trent Arena
Here’s our vote for best costume, worn by Lynne Cherkaoui of Dayton:
Biden is speaking
After being introduced by his wife, Jill Biden, Biden has taken the stage.
“Who is going to make you better off four years than now today, and ladies and gentlemen, on that question, it’s Barack Obama,” he said.
The crowd is at 1,500, according to estimates. Trent’s capacity is 4,500 with people seating and standing on the floor, 3,600 seated only. But in this crowd, most people are standing on the floor in front of the podium.
“I know that it’s Halloween,” he said. “But John McCain as an agent of change is a costume that just does not fit.”
Biden’s running late….
Sen. Joe Biden, the Democratic vice-presidential candidate, was scheduled to speak at 2 p.m. It’s 2:48 p.m, and he’s not here yet.
Early voting hours extended locally due to high turnout
With record numbers of citizens turning out for early voting, the Montgomery County Board of Elections is extending its hours this weekend and Monday. Hours will be the following:
Saturday, November 1: 7 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, November 2: noon to 7:30 pm
Monday, November 3: 7 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Registered voters can cast their ballots at the Board of Elections headquarters located on the lower level of the Montgomery County Administration Building, 451 W. Third Street, Dayton.
Here’s the times for other area counties: Greene County Board of Elections, 651 Dayton-Xenia Road, Xenia. Today and Monday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Saturday, 9 a.m. to noon.
Miami County Board of Elections, 215 W. Main St., Troy. Today and Monday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Saturday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m..
Warren County Board of Elections, 406 Justice Drive, Lebanon. Monday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.; today, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; Saturday, 9 a.m. to noon.
Crowds gearing up for Biden in Kettering
At 9:30 a.m., A.J. Reuscher of Beavercreek was standing in front of the James S. Trent Arena, waiting to see Sen. Joe Biden make his case for Democratic candidate Barack Obama.
He could’ve slept in a bit longer.
The crowds were thinner than they were Monday for Sen. John McCain, who also appeared at Trent, but by 1:20 p.m. a steady crowd largely comprised of Obama-Biden backers were rolling through the door.
Biden, D-Del., was scheduled to speak at 2 p.m, part of a trip around Ohio that will also take him to Lima later Friday, Oct. 31, and then Marion and Bowling Green on Saturday.
Those in the crowd said they felt pretty good about the Democrats’ chances, both nationally and in Ohio.
John Dehaven, 52, of Clarksville, clad in an Obama T-shirt, said he feels Obama has the charisma to bring people to the polls.
“To be honest with you, I think it’s going to be landslide for Mr. Obama. I think he’ll be elected president by 10 at night.”
Dehaven said he backed Obama because “he’s for the middle class.”
“He’s not for the richies,” he said.
Jennifer Kavouris, 42, of West Carrollton, was attending her second campaign event for the Obama-Biden ticket - she also saw Obama in Cincinnati Oct. 9 - and she’s also volunteering for Obama. She also was active in John Kerry’s campaign in 2004. This year, she feels more confident in her candidate’s chances.
“This feels a lot different,” she said. “There’s more excitement.”
Obama outspending McCain on TV in Ohio, U.S.
Democrat Barack Obama is outspending Republican John McCain nearly 3-1 on TV advertising across the country, according to a report released today, Oct. 31, by the University of Wisconsin Advertising Project.
The report covers spending for Tuesday, Oct. 21- Tuesday, Oct. 28.
In Ohio, Obama outspent McCain, $1,984,000 to $753,000 during the week, nearly a 3-1 margin.
Nationally, Obama spent nearly $21.5 million to nearly $7.5 million for McCain. The Republican Party spent another $6.7 million, including $999,000 in Ohio, and interest groups spent $2.2 million.
The totals do not include the money Obama spent Wednesday, Oct. 29, on a 30-minute infomercial. The numbers for Obama put Obama on track to spend more money in October on broadcast TV - more than $100 million - than any campaign has spent in history.
The air war rages mostly on what should be McCain’s turf - states that President Bush won in 2004, the report says.
For the full report, click here.
In other campaign finance news, check out the higher education blog On Campusfor Kelly Mori’s report on how academics are opening their wallets much wider for Obama than for McCain. Mori is the health and higher education reporter for the Springfield News-Sun.
Obama to hold 3 Ohio rallies on Sunday
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama will make three Ohio campaign stops on Sunday, Nov. 2, as he and Republican John McCain head for their Election Day showdown on Tuesday, Nov. 4.
The first Ohio rally will be on the West Plaza of the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, near the corner of S. High and E. Broad streets, Isaac Baker, Obama Ohio campaign spokesman, said on Thursday, Oct. 30. Doors will open at 11 a.m. for the 1 p.m. rally.
Obama also will appear in Cleveland and Cincinnati, with details to be announced later, said Baker.
Obama’s wife Michelle also will be at the Columbus and Cleveland events.
The Columbus event is open to the public and tickets aren’t required but an RSVP is encouraged. Click here to RSVP.
Frampton does NOT love sign thieves’ way
Rocker Peter Frampton, who lives in Indian Hill, near Cincinnati, called the Cincinnati Enquirer Thursday fuming mad, the paper reports.
Someone keeps stealing the Barack Obama signs from his yard.
Frampton, a former Brit who became an American after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, called The Enquirer requesting an interview to ask people to stop stealing his signs. It’s the first time he’s ever asked to be interviewed, he told the paper.
“They are frustrating my attempt to use my First Amendment right to speech and political speech is supposedly the most protected,” Frampton told them. “It bugs me that people are breaking the law because it bugs them so much.”
Frampton has now installed video surveillance up in the yard to catch whoever is stealing his signs.
Ben Stiller rocks vote at UD
Our Dayton Daily News colleague Dave Larsen scored an interview with actor Ben Stiller at the University of Dayton for the Rock the Vote rally today. Read about it here.
McCain tours Ohio
SANDUSKY - Joe the Plumber skipped Republican John McCain’s first rally of the day but caught up with him by afternoon and appeared with at Washington Park in downtown Sandusky.
McCain introduced the instant celebrity to hundreds of supporters.
Samuel “Joe” Wurzelbacher told supporters in Sandusky: “Get involved in government that way we can hold our politicians accountable and take back our government. It’s all ours.”
McCain is making a final campaign sweep through the Buckeye State in a last-ditch push to wrestle Ohio from Democrat Barack Obama, who is leading in the polls.
Outside a middle school in Defiance, he told supporters “Sen. Obama is running to be ‘Redistributor in Chief.’ I’m running to be Commander in Chief.”
The McCain campaign pounced on comments Obama made to Wurzelbacher a few weeks ago about spreading the wealth around by increasing taxes on Americans making more than $250,000 a year.
McCain charged that Obama’s policies will punish success, hurt small business and further damage the economy.
McCain’s bus tour will take him from near the Indiana border to the Pennsylvania border on Thursday and then swing along the Ohio River and into the state capital on Friday. The ambitious schedule includes stops at high school gymnasiums, courthouse steps, and parks in Defiance, Tiffin, Sandusky, North Elyria, Youngstown, Hanoverton, Steubenville, New Philadelphia, and Newark.
He will cap it off with the help of California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and country music singer Hank Williams Jr. at a rally at Nationwide Arena in downtown Columbus - the same site where Schwarzenegger campaigned with George W. Bush four years ago. Just outside Sandusky’s Washington Park, hundred of people chanted “Obama! Obama!”
Inside the security line, though, it was all McCain.
“It ain’t over until it’s over. We have faith he can still win it,” said Phyllis Wassner of Sandusky.
McCain took a quick tour through downtown Tiffin, stopping to shake hands with people who had been waiting for the ‘impromptu’ stop for 90 minutes. McCain and his wife, Cindy, zipped through The Coffee Break: The Tiffin Bake Shop with a media horde in tow.
Sara Wax stood on a booth bench and yelled, “Good luck, John. You got my vote!”
Brunner: no federal litigation on registration mismatches
The U.S. Justice Department isn’t expected to take legal action against Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner before the Tuesday, Nov. 4, election requiring Brunner to release the names of voters who registration forms have information that doesn’t match personal information on other data bases.
Brunner said today, Oct. 30, that was her understanding but that her office and the Justice Department continue to work on the issue and that the her office’s voter data base will have to be rebuilt after the election. She didn’t know how much it would cost.
President Bush, at the request of U.S. House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-West Chester, had asked the Justice Department to investigate the mismatch issue.
The Ohio Republican Party sued Brunner to get the mismatch information on all voters who have registered this year, but the U.S. Supreme Court threw out the lawsuit, saying it appeared that a private party lacked the authority to file such a suit.
Brunner has said that there was mismatched information on about 200,000 of 666,000 registrations compared to data on drivers’ licenses and Social Security records.
Many of the mismatches are due to misspellings and clerical errors, she said.
McCain kicks off bus tour
DEFIANCE — With new economic numbers showing the U.S. economy is shrinking as consumers curb spending, Republican John McCain began his final campaign sweep through the Buckeye State in a last-ditch push to wrestle Ohio from Democrat Barack Obama.
McCain ran through his stump speech in less than 20 minutes, delivering blistering criticism of Obama to a few thousand people outside a middle school in Defiance.
“Sen. Obama is running to be ‘Redistributionist in Chief.’ I’m running to be Commander in Chief,” McCain said.
The McCain campaign pounced on comments Obama made to Samuel ‘Joe the Plumber’ Wuzelbacher a few weeks ago about spreading the wealth around by increasing taxes on Americans making more than $250,000 a year.
Wuzelbacher was apparently a no-show at the Defiance rally, which provided for an awkward moment for McCain when he gave Joe the Plumber a shout out.
McCain charged that Obama’s policies will punish success, hurt small business and further damage the economy.
McCain’s bus tour will take him from near the Indiana border to the Pennsylvania border on Thursday and then swing along the Ohio River and into the state capital on Friday.
The ambitious schedule includes stops at high school gymnasiums, courthouse steps, and parks in Defiance, Tiffin, Sandusky, North Elyria, Youngstown, Hanoverton, Steubenville, New Philadelphia, and Newark - not exactly big cities with huge concentrations of voters.
He will cap it off with the help of California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and country music singer Hank Williams Jr. at a rally at Nationwide Arena in downtown Columbus - the same site where Schwarzenegger campaigned with George W. Bush four years ago.
A poll from Quinnipiac University released earlier this week shows McCain trailing Obama in three key swing states: Ohio, Florida and Pennsylvania. Obama leads 51-42 in Ohio, 53-41 in Pennsylvania and 47-45 in Florida. The poll shows Obama leading 57-31 among those who voted early in Ohio.
In Defiance, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., introduced McCain.
“Anybody see the infomercial last night? Thank God for cable. If we had played that at a prison camp it’d have violated the Geneva convention,” Graham said, referring to Obama’s 30-minute paid address Wednesday, Oct. 29, on major TV networks.
“Sen. Obama wants to invest in renewable energy and give tax breaks to 95 percent of workers and their families, while Sen. McCain’s plan provides no tax relief for more than 100 million Americans,” said Obama campaign spokesman Tommy Vietor.
Neuhardt nabs Clinton endorsement
Sen. Hillary Clinton endorsed Democratic congressional candidate Sharen Neuhardt on Thursday, Oct. 30, Neuhardt’s campaign announced.
Neuhardt, D-Yellow Springs, is running against state Sen. Steve Austria, R-Beavercreek for the 7th Congressional District, which is an open race because of the retirement of U.S. Rep. David Hobson, R-Springfield.
“The people of the 7th District have suffered for far too long under failed Republican policies,” Clinton, D-N.Y., said in the release announcing the endorsement. “Sharen Neuhardt will be the freshest voice this District has heard since the Great Depression. She will also be the first woman to stand up and deliver new ideas that this District desperately needs. We cannot let this moment of tremendous change slip away.”
Political costume contest!
Dress up like John McCain, Sarah Palin, Arnold Schwarzenneger or “Joe the Plumber” for the McCain campaign rally in Columbus on Friday, Oct. 31, and you could win a chance to have a picture taken backstage.
In what is expected to be McCain’s last stop in Ohio before Election Day, the Republican nominee is pulling out all the stops. He’ll appear at a rally at Nationwide Arena in downtown Columbus with movie star turned California Gov. Schwarzenneger and country music star Hank Williams Jr. It’ll be the last rally after a two-day bus tour through the Buckeye State.
Schwarzenneger appeared with George W. Bush in the same venue four years ago.
The campaign is promising face painting, Halloween crafts, pumpkin carving and trick or treating for kids.
Palin fires up Chillicothe crowd; calls for “clean break” from Bush energy policies
CHILLICOTHE - On a chilly fall afternoon, Sarah Palin fired up a friendly crowd here in Ohio’s first capital by bashing Democrat Barack Obama as tax-happy and praising Republican John McCain as the fighter the country needs to right the economy and win the war in Iraq.
“Will you hire us?” Palin, McCain’s vice presidential running mate, asked on Wednesday, Oct. 29. “Will you send us to Washington?”
Several thousand cheering admirers, bundled up in front of the Ross County Courthouse, roared their positive response.
“She calls it like it is,” said an approving Mary Kan Van Dette, 55, attending with a home schooling group.
Palin came here after a rally in Bowling Green and what was billed as a major energy speech in Toledo. In Toledo, she called for a “clean break” with the Bush administration’s energy policies that she said depend too much on importing oil, according to the Associated Press.
“We not only provide wealth to the sponsors of terror, we provide high-value targets to the terrorists themselves,” Palin said. “Across the world are pipelines, refineries, transit routes and terminals for the oil we rely on. And al-Quaida terrorists know where they are.”
Democratic Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, an Obama backer, fired back in a press release, charging that in Congress McCain has “voted against alternative sources of energy and stood with his oil industry benefactors instead.”
Back in Chillicothe, Palin mocked Obama’s recent statement to “Joe the Plumber”- Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher of suburban Toledo - that Obama wanted to “spread the wealth.”
“We want to spread opportunity so you can spread new wealth, so ‘Joe the Plumber’ can spread new wealth,” Palin said.
She raised the specter of all Democratic control of Washington with a President Obama, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.
“The Obama-Pelosi-Reid agenda would put America on a path….that would erode the work ethic that made this country great,” Palin said.
For some at the rally, Palin, not McCain, was the reason to be enthusiastic. “I’m for Palin,” said Paul Hansford, 64, of Waverly. “I don’t vote for socialists or liberals.”
Hansford called McCain a “liberal”, partly because he’s not tough enough on illegal immigrants.
Palin’s Ohio triple header came as the campaign roared into the final stretch with two new polls released Wednesday showing the Ohio race tightening.
A poll by the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion showed Obama leading 48-45 percent among likely voters, including those leaning toward a candidate, compared to a 49-45 percent edge for Obama two weeks ago.
A Quinnipiac University poll showed Obama leading 51-42 percent among likely voters, down from 52-38 percent in an Oct. 23 poll.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
Biden visits Friday
Sen. Joe Biden, the Democratic candidate for vice president, will appear at Kettering Fairmont High School’s Trent Arena Friday, Oct. 31, at 2 p.m., according to a campaign spokesman.
Biden’s visit is on the heels of Republican presidential candidate, Sen. John McCain’s, appearance Monday at the school’s arena.
Biden’s wife, Jill, will also appear at the campaign event.
Doors open at noon.
The event is open to the public and tickets are not required. Seating is limited and is available on a first-come, first-served basis.
An RSVP is strongly encouraged. The public can RSVP at www.oh.barackobama.com.
Rock the Vote brings Beastie Boys, Sheryl Crow to UD
The Dayton Daily News’ Dave Larsen reports on a Rock the Vote concert at the University of Dayton Thursday, Oct. 30. They’re bringing Sheryl Crow, the Beastie Boys and Ben Harper.
GMA is coming to Dayton
ABC’s Good Morning America will broadcast live Wednesday, Oct. 29 from the Golden Nugget Pancake House at 2932 S. Dixie Drive in Dayton.
Two University of Dayton students, senior Ethan Owens and UD grad student Jeffrey Moore will be among those the program plans on interviewing about the upcoming election.
The show begins at 7 a.m.
Polls show race tightening up in Ohio
Two polls released Wednesday, Oct. 29, show the race for Ohio’s 20 electoral votes is tightening up with less than a week to go.
A new poll out by the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion gives Democrat Barack Obama a slight edge over Republican John McCain, receiving the support of 46 percent of registered voters in Ohio compared to 43 percent for McCain.
Two weeks ago, the Marist Poll had Obama leading 49 percent among likely voters to McCain’s 45 percent.
The new poll indicates that likely voters who are undecided yet leaning toward a candidate also tend to favor Obama, giving him 48 percent of support to McCain’s 45 percent of support.
Independent voters in Ohio also now give the edge to Obama. Half of independents favored Obama, while 41 percent say they’re backing McCain.
The Marist Poll also found Obama has a strong lead in Pennsylvania, receiving support of 52 percent of voters in the state compared to McCain’s 39 percent. That’s up from a Marist Poll done earlier this month.
Similarly, a Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday showed Obama still holding an advantage in the Buckeye State, albeit a tighter one. That poll found that Obama leads in Ohio 51-42 percent, compared to 52-38 percent Oct. 23.
New poll: McCain gains slightly in Ohio
Republican presidential candidate John McCain has edged slightly closer to Democrat Barack Obama in Ohio but overwhelming support among those who already have voted has helped Obama chalk up a 9-point lead.
That’s what a new Quinnipiac University presidential poll, released today, Oct. 29, shows.
The swing state poll also shows Obama with a big lead in Pennsylvania, but in a statistical tie in Florida, where Obama had a 5-point lead last week.
For full poll results, click here.
In Ohio, Obama leads 57-31 percent in the poll among those who’ve already voted and has continued to show strength among the white working-class voters who helped Sen. Hillary Clinton defeat him in Ohio’s Democratic primary.
“He’s only losing one in five Clinton voters and is within two points of Sen. McCain among whites without college degrees,” Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, said in a press release. “That’s a recipe for Obama success.”
Here are the new results in the three states, followed by results of a Quinnipiac poll released on Thursday, Oct. 23.
*Ohio, Obama leads, 51-42 percent, compared to 52-38 percent.
*Florida, Obama leads, 47-45 percent, compared to 49-44 percent.
*Pennsylvania, Obama leads 53-41 percent, compared to 53-40 percent.
The poll results come with McCain and his vice presidential running mate Sarah Palin making a strong final push in Ohio. Palin was to be at rallied today in Bowling Green and Chillicothe and McCain starts a two-day bus trip on Thursday, Oct. 30, that ends on Friday, Oct. 31, with a Columbus rally.
Obama also is expected back in the state before Election Day and former President Bill Clinton is scheduled to be in the Youngstown and Toledo areas on Thursday, Oct. 30.
The poll was conducted Wednesday, Oct. 22-Sunday, Oct. 26. The margin of error in Ohio and Florida was plus or minus 2.6 percent; it was plus or minus 2.7 percent in Pennsylvania.
Bill Clinton coming to Ohio for Obama on Thursday
Former President Bill Clinton will be in Ohio on Thursday, Oct. 30, to campaign for fellow Democrat Barack Obama in the Youngstown and Toledo areas.
Details will be announced later.
Clinton campaigned hard for his wife Sen. Hillary Clinton in the Democratic presidential primaries against Obama but has pledged to help Obama defeat Republican John McCain in the race for the White House.
Clinton won Ohio in both his presidential campaigns in 1992 and 1996.
Early voters boost Obama in poll
Among Ohio voters likely to vote on Nov. 4, Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama are deadlocked at 47 percent in a new poll.
However, among those who say they’ve cast an early ballot, Obama has a 13-point lead in the SurveyUSA poll released on Tuesday, Oct. 28.
That leaves Obama with a 4-point lead, 49-45 percent overall, just outside the poll’s margin of error of plus or minus 3.9 percent.
An average of recent polls on the Web site RealClearPolitics gives Obama a 6-point lead in Ohio.
AFL-CIO “Road to Recovery” tour coming to Dayton
Ohio AFL-CIO President Joe Rugola is bringing his “Road to Recovery” walking tour to the Dayton-area and Mason on Wednesday, Oct. 29.
Rugola started the tour on Oct. 5 to highlight regions of Ohio “hit hardest by the economic policies of the last years,” a press release said. He’s stopping at job sites that have been closed down or downsized.
Rugola blames President Bush for the economic setbacks and says GOP presidential candidate John McCain wold continue Bush policies.
The challenge, he said, is to “right the ship by electing a president who will put working families and the middle class first- Barack Obama.”
Here are the sites Rugola is scheduled to visit:
Delphi 9:00 a.m. 3100 Needmore Rd.
Delphi Holdings Group 12:30 a.m. 3535 Kettering Blvd.
GM Assembly Plant 1:30 p.m. 2601 W Stroop Rd.
UBE Automotive 5:00 p.m. 4600 N Mason Montgomery Rd. Mason, OH 45040
Palin adds Chillicothe rally to Wednesday schedule
Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin had added a rally in Chillicothe, Ohio’s first capital, to her Wednesday, Oct. 29, campaign schedule.
Doors open for the Chillicothe rally at 1 p.m. and the event is expected to start about 2:30 p.m., the McCain-Palin campaign announced on Tuesday, Oct. 28. The rally is at the Ross County Courthouse, 2 N. Paint St.
Earlier Wedneday, Palin will hold a rally in Bowling Green. Palin will hand the campaign off to GOP presidential candidate John McCain when he returns to the state on Thursday, Oct. 30, for a two-day bus trip that will end with a Friday rally in Columbus with California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Here’s where to get tickets for the Chillicothe rally.
Fayette County Republican Headquarters 223 East Court Street Washington Courthouse, Ohio 43160 Hours of Operation 12noon-6pm Mon.-Fri 10am-2pm Saturday
Pickaway County Republican Headquarters 121 W. Main St. Circleville OH 43113 Hours of Operation 9am-8pm Daily
Pike County Republican Headquarters 205 East Emmitt Avenue Waverly, Ohio 45690 Hours of Operation 10am-7pm Mon.-Fri 10am-3pm Saturday
Ross County Republican Headquarters 129 East Main Street Chillicothe, Ohio 45601 Hours of Operation 9:30am-6:30pm Mon.-Fri.
Joe the Plumber a hit in Kettering
Vendors at the John McCain event in Kettering Monday, Oct. 27, were selling this pin:
The campaign is also touting a series of “Joe the Plumber” events around the state to be held Tuesday, including one at 12:30 p.m. at the Dublin Pub in Dayton. The events will supposedly include a “special guest.”
Hmmmm……
T-shirts for Palin
Here are a few shots courtesy of Dayton Daily News reporter Kelli Wynn from today’s event in Kettering….
One week to go: Who do you think will be the next president?
[an error occurred while processing this directive]1.4 million Ohioans want absentee ballots
More than 1.45 million Ohio voters have asked for in-person or mail-in absentee ballots as of Friday, Oct. 24, according to Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner.
This is the first presidential election in Ohio with no fault absentee voting where no reason needs to be given to get an absentee ballot.
Brunner predicts a record 80 percent voter turnout, or 6.48 million voters. Brunner anticipates 2.16 million votes will be cast by absentee ballot.
Roughly, 12,800 Ohioans registered to vote and voted on the same day during a five-day window in which same-day registration and voting was allowed.
McCain in Kettering says he’ll fight till the end
John McCain used the last week of the 2008 presidential campaign to try to position himself as the best candidate for a troubled economy and to let a Kettering crowd know that even though he lags in the polls, he isn’t giving up.
Speaking at the James S. Trent Arena behind Fairmont High School in Kettering, the Republican nominee for president told an enthusiastic crowd that “nothing is inevitable here” and that his campaign is ready to “fight to the end.”
“Let me give you the state of the race today,” he said. “There’s eight days to go. We’re a few points down. The pundits have written us off, just like they’ve done before four or five times.”
But he told the crowd he would fight until the election’s end. “I’ve never been the kind to back down when the stakes are high,” he said.
He was greeted by a crowd of GOP faithful, some who stood in line as early as 8 a.m. in chilly weather to see McCain speak at the 2 p.m. event. They waited for him in the arena for Fairmont High School with pep-rally exuberance, one-half of the arena chanting “McCain,” while the other responded “Palin.”
“Use your brain, vote McCain,” they chanted while waiting.
McCain also used the rally as a chance to criticize Democrat Barack Obama’s economic plans and pit himself as the right candidate to fix the economy. Obama has held an advantage on the economic issue in recent national and state polls.
“He believes in redistributing wealth, not in policies that grow our economy and create jobs,” McCain said. “He is more interested in controlling wealth than in creating it, in redistributing money instead of spreading opportunity. I am going to create wealth for all Americans, by creating opportunity for all Americans.”
McCain said Obama has voted “94 times” for tax increases or against tax cuts, and made a charge that has become familiar in this campaign: That Obama, if elected, would raise taxes. Obama has said he would only raise taxes for those who earn $250,000 or more a year, and that he would cut taxes for those who earn less.
But McCain said Obama’s “massive new tax increase” would be the “wrong approach” in an economic slowdown.
“The answer to a slowing economy is not higher taxes, but that is exactly what is going to happen when the Democrats have total control of Washington,” he said. “We can’t let that happen. We need pro-growth and pro-jobs economic policies, not pro-government spending programs paid for with higher taxes.”
He also sought to separate himself from President Bush, repeating a refrain he made during a stop in Cleveland this morning.
“We cannot spend the next four years as we have spent much of the last eight: spending ourselves into a ditch and hoping that the consequences don’t come,” he said. “We need to get our government under control, and we need to get our economy moving again. We have to act. We need a new direction, and we have to fight for it.”
He said if he were elected, he would double the child deduction for working families, cut the capital gains taxes and cut business taxes.” And he said he would cut spending.
“I’m going to make the government live on a budget just like you do,” he said.
With one week to go in the presidential race, Obama holds a slight advantage in Ohio, a key state with 20 electoral votes. No Republican has ever won the White House without carrying the state of Ohio.
Monday marked McCain’s 10th visit to southwest Ohio since January 2007. That tally includes trips to Dayton, Cincinnati and West Chester. In all, he has made an estimated 39 appearances in Ohio since January 2007, according to the Washington Post’s candidate tracker. Obama, meanwhile, has visited the Buckeye State 44 times since January 2007, and has visited southwest Ohio, considered a Republican stronghold, eight times.
Watching McCain in Kettering on Monday, Quentin Durrstein, 38 of Beavercreek, said he appreciated McCain’s feistiness.
“He’s showing a lot more energy again,” he said. “He’s showing his willingness to fight again.”
The “jury” in Canton likes Obama’s “closing argument”
CANTON -His handlers billed Democrat Barack Obama’s speech as the “closing argument” in the presidential campaign but most of the “jury” gathered in the Canton Memorial Civic Center had their minds made up before Obama took the stage.
“I’m ready for a change…..like yesterday,” Michele Currence, 54, of Canton said on Monday, Oct. 27.
Obama used his speech to offer a “a politics that calls on our better angels instead of encouraging our worst instincts; one that reminds us of obligations we have to ourselves and one another.”
The plea to come together appealed to Mark Pitocco, 56, of nearby Louisville. “Anything that talks about unity and bringing people together is a good thing,” said Pitocco, a retiree.
But Obama mixed his above-the-political-fray rhetoric with blasts at Republican John McCain, striking back at McCain charges that Obama’s economic policies amount to “socialism.”
After ticking off his economic proposals, Obama said “I call it opportunity.” Ricky Dunham, 22, a student at Kent State University, liked the rejoinder. “Finally, it’s nice to see him fighting back a little,” said Dunham.
Obama also continued to link McCain to the unpopular occupant of the White House, President Bush.
“….after 21 months and three debates, Sen. McCain still has not been able to tell the American people a single major thing he’d do differently from George Bush when it comes to the economy,” Obama told the crowd estimated at 4,900.
Although Obama now leads in the polls nationally and appears to have the momentum in Ohio, he warned against letting up.
“Don’t believe for a second this election is over…We have a lot of work to do…In one week’s time we can choose an economy that rewards work and creates jobs,” he said.
Still, some in the audience like Fred Campbell, 46, of Canton, were looking ahead. Campbell voted for Republican Ronald Reagan and said that until Obama no candidate since then has shown the ability to inspire hope.
“That’s what we need in the White House, somebody that the country can believe it,” said Campbell.
McCain’s remarks as prepared
“It’s great to be back in Ohio. We need to win Ohio on November 4th, and with your help we’re going to win here, and bring real change to Washington, DC.
It’s been a long campaign and we’ve heard a lot of words, and great campaign trail eloquence. The amazing thing is that we’ve learned more about Senator Obama’s real goals for our country over the last two weeks than we learned over the past two years. It is amazing that even at this late hour, we are still learning more about Senator Obama and his agenda. He told Joe the plumber right here in Ohio he wants to quote “spread the wealth around.” It’s always more interesting to hear what people have to say in these unscripted moments, and today we heard another moment like this from Senator Obama.
In a radio interview revealed today, he said that one of the quote — “tragedies” of the civil rights movement is that it didn’t bring about a redistribution of wealth in our society. He said, and I quote, “One of the tragedies of the Civil Rights movement was because the Civil Rights movement became so court-focused I think that there was a tendency to lose track of the political and community organizing and activities on the ground that are able to put together the actual coalitions of power through which you bring about redistributive change.”
That is what change means for Barack the Redistributor: It means taking your money and giving it to someone else. He believes in redistributing wealth, not in policies that grow our economy and create jobs. He is more interested in controlling wealth than in creating it, in redistributing money instead of spreading opportunity. I am going to create wealth for all Americans, by creating opportunity for all Americans.
We’ve all heard his campaign trail promise: he says he only wants to tax the rich. But these unscripted moments and his record tell a different story. He supported the Democratic budget plan passed just this year that called for raising taxes on people making just 42,000 dollars per year. And Senator Obama has voted 94 times for tax increases or against tax cuts.
Senator Obama may say he’s trying to soak the rich, but it’s the middle class who are going to get put through the wringer, because even the tax increase he admits to misses the target. To pay for nearly a trillion dollars in new government spending, his tax increase would impact 50 percent of small business income in this country, and the jobs of 16 million middle class Americans who work for those small businesses.
Whether it’s Joe the Plumber here in Ohio or the working men and women across this country, we shouldn’t be taxing our small businesses more as Senator Obama wants to do, we need to be helping them expand their businesses and create jobs. America didn’t become the greatest nation on earth by giving our money to the government to “redistribute.” In this country, we believe in spreading opportunity, for those who need jobs and those who create them. And that is exactly what I intend to do as President of the United States.
My opponent’s massive new tax increase is exactly the wrong approach in an economic slowdown. The answer to a slowing economy is not higher taxes, but that is exactly what is going to happen when the Democrats have total control of Washington. We can’t let that happen. We need pro-growth and pro-jobs economic policies, not pro-government spending programs paid for with higher taxes.
This is the fundamental difference between Senator Obama and me. We both disagree with President Bush on economic policy. The difference is that he thinks taxes have been too low, and I think that spending has been too high. Senator Obama’s priority is not to get spending under control, it is to spend more, and if he has to tax you to do it, he’s shown in the past that he doesn’t have a problem with that.
We cannot spend the next four years as we have spent much of the last eight: spending ourselves into a ditch and hoping that the consequences don’t come. We need to get our government under control, and we need to get our economy moving again. We have to act. We need a new direction, and we have to fight for it.
I’ve been fighting for this country since I was seventeen years old, and I have the scars to prove it. If I’m elected President, I will fight to shake up Washington and take America in a new direction from my first day in office until my last. I’m not afraid of the fight, I’m ready for it.
I’m not going to spend $750 billion dollars of your money just bailing out the Wall Street bankers and brokers who got us into this mess. I’m going to make sure we take care of the working people who were devastated by the excesses of Wall Street and Washington.
I have a plan to hold the line on taxes and cut them to make America more competitive and create jobs here at home. We’re going to double the child deduction for working families. We will cut the capital gains tax. And we will cut business taxes to help create jobs, and keep American businesses in America. Raising taxes makes a bad economy much worse. Keeping taxes low creates jobs, keeps money in your hands and strengthens our economy.
If I’m elected President, I won’t spend nearly a trillion dollars more of your money. Senator Obama will. And he can’t do that without raising your taxes or digging us further into debt. I’m going to make government live on a budget just like you do.
I will freeze government spending on all but the most important programs like defense, veterans care, Social Security and health care until we scrub every single government program and get rid of the ones that aren’t working for the American people. And I will veto every single pork barrel bill Congresses passes.
If I’m elected President, we’re going to stop spending $700 billion to buy oil from countries that don’t like us very much. Senator Obama will argue to delay drilling for more oil and gas and against building new nuclear power plants in America. If I am president, we will start new drilling now. We will invest in all energy alternatives — nuclear, wind, solar, and tide. We will encourage the manufacture of hybrid, flex fuel and electric automobiles. We will invest in clean coal technology. We will lower the cost of energy within months, and we will create millions of new jobs.
Let me give you the state of the race today. There’s eight days to go. We’re a few points down. The pundits have written us off, just like they’ve done before. My opponent is working out the details with Speaker Pelosi and Senator Reid of their plans to raise your taxes, increase spending, and concede defeat in Iraq. He’s measuring the drapes, and he’s planned his first address to the nation for before the election. I guess I’m old fashioned about these things I prefer to let the voters weigh in before presuming the outcome.
What America needs now is someone who will finish the race before the starting the victory lap … someone who will fight to the end, and not for himself but for his country.
I have fought for you most of my life, and in places where defeat meant more than returning to the Senate. There are other ways to love this country, but I’ve never been the kind to back down when the stakes are high.
I know you’re worried. America is a great country, but we are at a moment of national crisis that will determine our future.
Will we continue to lead the world’s economies or will we be overtaken? Will the world become safer or more dangerous? Will our military remain the strongest in the world? Will our children and grandchildren’s future be brighter than ours?
My answer to you is yes. Yes, we will lead. Yes, we will prosper. Yes, we will be safer. Yes, we will pass on to our children a stronger, better country. But we must be prepared to act swiftly, boldly, with courage and wisdom.
I’m an American. And I choose to fight. Don’t give up hope. Be strong. Have courage. And fight.
Fight for a new direction for our country. Fight for what’s right for America.
Fight to clean up the mess of corruption, infighting and selfishness in Washington.
Fight to get our economy out of the ditch and back in the lead.
Fight for the ideals and character of a free people.
Fight for our children’s future.
Fight for justice and opportunity for all.
Stand up to defend our country from its enemies.
Stand up, stand up, stand up and fight. America is worth fighting for. Nothing is inevitable here. We never give up. We never quit. We never hide from history. We make history.
Now, let’s go win this election and get this country moving again.”
McCain vows he’ll fight, says he is the right candidate for the economy
John McCain used the last week of the 2008 presidential campaign to try to position himself as the better candidate for the economy and to let a Kettering crowd know that even though he lags in the polls, he isn’t giving up.
Speaking at the James S. Trent Arena behind Fairmont High School in Kettering, McCain, the Republican nominee for president, told an enthusiastic crowd that “nothing is inevitable here” and that his campaign is ready to “fight to the end.”
“Let me give you the state of the race today,” he said. “There’s eight days to go. We’re a few points down. The pundits have written us off, just like they’ve done before four or five times.”
But he told the crowd he would fight until the election’s end. “I’ve never been the kind to back down when the stakes are high,” he said.
McCain also used the rally as a chance to criticize Democrat Barack Obama’s economic plans and pit himself as the right candidate to fix the economy.
“He believes in redistributing wealth, not in policies that grow our economy and create jobs,” McCain said. “He is more interested in controlling wealth than in creating it, in redistributing money instead of spreading opportunity. I am going to create wealth for all Americans, by creating opportunity for all Americans.”
McCain said Obama has voted “94 times” for tax increases or against tax cuts, and made a charge that has become familiar in this campaign: That Obama, if elected, would raise taxes. Obama has said he would only raise taxes for those who earn $250,000 or more a year, and that he would cut taxes for those who earn less.
But McCain said Obama’s “massive new tax increase” would be the “wrong approach” in an economic slowdown.
“The answer to a slowing economy is not higher taxes, but that is exactly what is going to happen when the Democrats have total control of Washington,” he said. “We can’t let that happen. We need pro-growth and pro-jobs economic policies, not pro-government spending programs paid for with higher taxes.”
He also sought to separate himself from President Bush, repeating a refrain he made during a stop in Cleveland this morning.
“We cannot spend the next four years as we have spent much of the last eight: spending ourselves into a ditch and hoping that the consequences don’t come,” he said. “We need to get our government under control, and we need to get our economy moving again. We have to act. We need a new direction, and we have to fight for it.”
He said if he were elected, he would double the child deduction for working families, cut the capital gains taxes and cut business taxes.” And he said he would cut spending.
“I’m going to make the government live on a budget just like you do,” he said.
Cindy’s speaking….
She’s reminding voters of the fact that between her family and the Palins, three members are serving in the armed services.
“The man standing behind me has lived his life by a code of conduct his entire life,” she said of her husband. “Duty, honor and country is how he lives his life.”
Also on stage today is former Republican vice-presidential candidate Jack Kemp, former pro-football player, and former congressman.
Kemp’s up next.
McCain’s on stage….
U.S. Rep. Mike Turner, R-Centerville, just introduced Cindy McCain, who, presumably, will introduce her husband….
McCain in Ohio: He’ll be baaaaaack.
Republican presidential nominee will make the final appearance of his Road to Victory bus tour in Columbus Friday, Oct. 31, at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, the campaign announced Monday, Oct. 27.
He’ll appear with Calif. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Doors open at 3 p.m. For more information, go to www.johnmccain.com.
Aaron Tippin sings; Crowd chants
Country singer Aaron Tippin just got off the stage after singing a rousing song about domestic oil drilling, “Drill here, drill now.”
Sample lyrics:
“Drill here, drill now How ‘bout some oil from our own soil that belongs to us anyhow No more debatin’ we’re tired of waitin’ everybody shout out loud Drill here, drill now”
“Every time a foreign tanker pulls up to our shore They got us over a barrel while they bleed us a little more And think how much it costs just to bring it all that way And how many American jobs that’d make if we were drillin’ in the USA Oh and God forbid if our oily friends should decide to cut us off We’d be standin’ around with our britches down now listen to me ya’ll.”
The crowd’s also been full of pep-rally cheer, as evidenced by the chanting, and the fact that the arena is behind Fairmont High School in Kettering. One side of the arena is shouting, “McCain.” The other is shouting, “Palin.”
Another chant: “Use your brain, vote McCain.”
Now they’re doing the wave!
Total “Joe the Plumber” references so far:
Three.
Total speakers so far: five.
Turner warms up GOP faithful at Kettering event
It’s U.S. Rep. Mike Turner’s turn to rev up the GOP faithful.
“Since we’re in school, I thought we’d have a little test,” Turner, R-Centerville said, to a few light-hearted groans. “I’m going to make it easy because, as you can imagine, the answer’s John McCain.”
“Who’s going to make us strong?” he asked.
The crowd, hoisting McCain-Palin signs, yelled, “John McCain!”
“Who’s going to make us safe?” he asked.
“John McCain!” they yelled.
He asked a few questions in a similar vein, and wrapped up with, “Who’s going to win Ohio in November?”
“John McCain!” they yelled.
“Who’s the next president of the United States?” he asked.
“John McCain!”
“Very good,” he said. “You all pass.”
State. Rep. Jon Husted, R-Kettering, is up next.
Joe the Plumber, meet Joe the Painter
Sen. John McCain isn’t scheduled to speak until 2:30 p.m., but the crowds at the James S. Trent Arena are already exuberant.
The Fairmont High School Marching band got the crowd revved up, but Joe Ellis, a Republican candidate for Montgomery County Commissioner, cracked the crowd up.
Ellis, a painting contractor, told the crowd that “Lately, my friends have been calling me “Joe the Painter” - a not-so-veiled reference to “Joe the Plumber,” the Toledo man who McCain has held up as a symbol of the working class.
“Next week, I hope they call me Joe the Montgomery County Commissioner,” Ellis said.
He was followed by Republican attorney general candidate Mike Crites. Former U.S. Rep. Rob Portman, R-Terrace Park, is addressing the crowds now.
Issue 5: $14.17 per signature to get on the ballot
COLUMBUS - The payday lending industry paid $3.42 million to collect the required 241,365 signatures to get Issue 5 on the Nov. 4 ballot.
That works out to $14.17 per valid signature.
Campaign finance reports filed last week show Issue 5 is supported by payday lending companies and an industry trade group. Since July, they’ve spent $14.6 million to get on the ballot and then urge a No vote on Issue 5.
Here is a sampling of where the money is going:
$175,000 to Fleishman Hilliard Inc., a public relations firm
$934,438 to Strategic Public Partners Group, a political consulting firm with ties to the Ohio GOP
$449,063 to three law firms for legal fees
$6.9 million to Midwest Communications & Media, a firm owned by Columbus lobbyist Neil Clark that buys TV advertising time
$50,000 to State Street Consultants, a political consulting firm owned by Neil Clark
$1.6 million for mailings
$71,700 for automated calls
$212,847 for polling
The No on Issue 5 campaign seeks to block parts of a new payday lending law adopted by the General Assembly earlier this year that caps annual interest rates on short term loans at 28 percent, down from the current 391 percent.
The No on Issue 5 campaign warns that if the rate cap stands, most of the state’s 1,400 payday lending stores will close and 6,000 workers will lose their jobs. They argue that adults should have the financial freedom to take out payday loans without government interference.
The Yes on Issue 5 campaign, in contrast, spent $261,765 since Sept. 15, with $260,438 of that coming from the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio. COHHIO is a non-profit organization that advocates to end homelessness and promote affordable housing.
The Yes on Issue 5 campaign hopes to win by working with groups that have endorsed their side, including AARP Ohio, Ohio Farm Bureau, Ohio Council of Churches, and Ohio Manufacturers Association which are urging their members to vote Yes.
“We have people at every level. We’re getting our word out through very basic means from people who care about the issue,” said Yes on Issue 5 spokeswoman Sandy Theis.
McCain heading toward southwest Ohio
Sen. John McCain is headed to southwest Ohio.
McCain, the Republican nominee for president, is slated to appear at a rally in Kettering at 2:30 p.m. today, Monday Oct. 27, following a meeting with economic business leaders in Cleveland.
In Cleveland, he sought to separate himself from President Bush on economic issues and criticized rival Barack Obama for his economic plan.
“We both disagree with President Bush on economic policies,” McCain said after that meeting. “The difference is that he thinks taxes have been too low and I think that spending has been too high.”
Monday’s visit marked McCain’s 10th visit to southwest Ohio since January 2007. That tally includes trips to Dayton, Cincinnati and West Chester. In all, he has visited Ohio 37 times since July 2007, according to the Washington Post’s candidate tracker.
And more are expected to be added by the end of the week: The campaign is reportedly planning a two-day bus tour through Ohio at the end of the week that will conclude Friday in Columbus that Calif. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger plans to attend. His vice-presidential nominee, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, is slated to attend a rally in Bowling Green on Wednesday.
Obama, meanwhile, has visited the Buckeye State 44 times since January 2007. Many of his visits have been focused on the more Democratic-leaning northeast corner of the state, as well as southeast Ohio, which has been in play and helped give Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland his seat in 2006. Still, he’s visited southwest Ohio, considered a Republican stronghold, eight times during that period.
Obama gets a hand from Bill Cosby
Comedian Bill Cosby is pushing more than Jello Pudding Pops these days. The Obama campaign announced Monday, Oct. 27, that Cosby will be in Detroit, Mich., Tuesday, Oct. 28, on behalf of Obama’s campaign.
In Michigan, the campaign announced, Cosby will talk about Michigan’s role in the election and urge members of the community to get more involved.
Obama offers a politics that “calls on our better angels”
CANTON - Democrat presidential candidate Barack Obama today, Oct. 27, was prepared to call on voters here and across the country to join with him in a “new politics.”
In prepared excerpts from his closing argument speech to be delivered about 12:30 p.m. at the Canton Memorial Civic Center, Obama said it would be a “a politics that call on our better angels instead of encouraging our worst instincts; one that reminds us of obligations we have to ourselves and one another. “
It will be Obama’s 44th Ohio campaign appearance since Jan. 1, 2007 according to the Washington Post “Election Tracker.”
Obama’s high-toned plea, however, was accompanied by blasts at Republican John McCain, linking McCain and his economic policies to the unpopular President Bush. McCain started the day in Cleveland and is expected at a rally in Kettering later.
“And now, after 21 months and three debates, Sen. McCain still has not been able to tell the American people a single major thing he’d do differently from George Bush when it comes to the economy,” said Obama.
“Sen. McCain says that we can’t spend the next four years waiting for our luck to change, but you understand that the biggest gamble we can take is embracing the same old Bush-McCain policies that have failed us for the last eight years.”
Obama said he has the economic proposals to help the middle class and get the economy moving again, refuting McCain charges that he would raise taxes and hurt the economy.
“So the choice in this election isn’t between tax cuts and no tax cuts.
“It’s about whether you believe we should only reward wealth, or whether we should also reward the work and workers who create it.
“I will give a tax break to 95% of Americans who work every day and get taxes taken out of their paychecks every week. I’ll eliminate income taxes for seniors making under $50,000 and give homeowners and working parents more of a break.
“And I’ll help pay for this by asking the folks who are making more than $250,000 a year to go back to the tax rate they were paying in the 1990s. No matter what Senator McCain may claim, here are the facts - if you make under $250,000, you will not see your taxes increase by a single dime - not your income taxes, not your payroll taxes, not your capital gains taxes.
“Nothing. Because the last thing we should do in this economy is raise taxes on the middle-class.”
Today’s dueling rallies are the start of the sprint to the finish in the presidential election, a sprint that is expected to bring both candidates back to Ohio.
Palin to return to Ohio on Wednesday
Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin will return to Ohio for a rally on Wednesday, Oct. 27, in Bowling Green, the McCain-Palin campaign announced.
The rally will be at Bowling Green State University’s Perry Field House, 801 N. Mercer Rd.
Doors open at 8:15 a.m. for the 10:15 a.m. event.
Here’s information on where to get tickets:
Wood County Victory Center 134 West South Boundary Street
Perrysburg, OH 43551
Open Daily: 9am - 9pm
Lucas County Victory Center 10 South Superior Street Toledo, OH 43604 Open Daily: 9am - 9pm
Seneca County GOP HQ 103 North Washington Street Tiffin, Ohio 44883 (Fort Ball Pizza Palace Parking Lot) Hours : 10am to 8pm
Sandusky County GOP HQ 906 West State Street Fremont, Ohio 43420 Open: 9am - 9pm
Obama to debut “closing argument” speech in Canton
Democrat Barack Obama will use his Ohio campaign stop in Canton on Monday, Oct. 27, to make his “closing argument” for why voters should pick him for president, his campaign said.
It’s the first stop for the “closing argument” speech that Obama will be giving as he campaigns around the country, Isaac Baker, Obama’s Ohio campaign spokesman, said.
In his speech, Sen. Obama will tell voters that after twenty-one months and three debates, Republican Sen. John McCain still has not been able to tell the American people a single major thing he’d do differently from George Bush when it comes to the economy, Obama’s campaign said in a press release on Sunday, Oct. 26.
Obama will ask Americans to help him change this country, and say that in just one week, they can choose an economy that rewards work and creates new jobs and fuels prosperity from the bottom-up, they can choose to invest in health care for our families and education for our kids and renewable energy for our future, and they can choose hope over fear, unity over division and the promise of change over the power of the status quo, his campaign said.
Ohio voters also will get a different message on Monday - this one from Republican John McCain at a rally in Kettering. McCain also was scheduled to campaign in Ohio on Sunday in Zanesville and Lancaster.
The dueling rallies kick off the last hectic week of campaigning for Ohio’s 20 electoral votes.
Strickland to cast early ballot - who will early voting help?
Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland will cast his ballot on Monday, Oct. 27, at the Franklin County Veterans Memorial at 300 W. Broad St. in Columbus.
Strickland is expected to vote about 9 a.m., according to the Obama- Biden campaign. He’ll discuss the importance of early voting before voting.
Oh, by the way, the Democratic governor is expected to vote for the Democratic ticket for president.
The Obama-Biden campaign has made getting a big early vote turnout a big part of its Ohio campaign.
The Republican McCain-Palin campaign also encourages early voting - as long as its for McCain-Palin.
[an error occurred while processing this directive]Eye on Ohio: Obama ‘Try This’ ad
By Martin Gottlieb
Dayton Daily News
Producer: Obama for America Where you can see it: It’s running in key states now. View it at DaytonDailyNews.com/eyeonohio.
Script: Announcer: “Not sure who to believe on taxes? Try this. Enter your income, marital status, number of kids. Then click. A nurse earning sixty grand? You get a thousand bucks under Obama. Under McCain…just one-fifty. The independent Tax Policy Center says Obama offers middle class tax cuts three times as big as McCain’s. Even leading conservatives say Obama’s plan is better for the middle class. One point five million have tried it. You should too.”
Obama voice-over: I’m Barack Obama and I approve this message.”
Video: The ad opens with a brief shot of Sen. Obama and Sen. John McCain at the last debate. As the ad’s announcer talks, an Internet browser address bar appears at the top of the page with this address being typed in: www.TaxCutFacts.org.
Then a form appears from that site, with slots for entering the information the announcer mentions. Then an arrow points to a “Calculate Now” button. A screen pops up showing, as an example, that a certain head-of-household in the $50,000-$75,000 range in income with one dependent would get a $1,000 cut under the Obama tax plan and a $150 cut under the McCain plan.
After that, the screen shows the quotations the announcer highlights from the Tax Policy Center and from an “analyst” with the conservative Heritage Foundation think-tank, as quoted in a newspaper. Finally appears a man working at his computer, followed by a picture of a smiling Sen. Obama.
Analysis: Through most of the campaign, the Republicans have insisted that Sen. Obama wants to raise taxes. He has said that he wants to cut the taxes of 95 percent of people. In recent days, the McCain campaign has portrayed the Obama plan as welfare designed to give a tax credit to people who earn so little they don’t even pay federal income taxes.
The McCain campaign has used the term “socialism” to characterize the desire to raise taxes on high-end incomes while cutting them at low end.
This ad is effort to undercut that attack, by letting people ask an Obama computer how they would personally fair under his tax plan.
The ad seems to cross a new frontier in the age of computers, bringing interactivity to a campaign in a way that goes way beyond supporters contributing money and getting online pep talks. It is an effort to generate general public interest, to address people via their pocketbooks and to dramatically make a point. The ad seems destined to set the McCain campaign to the task of finding a rebuttal. Whether the answers the Obama computer gives are true remains to be shown.
Justice Department pleased with how Brunner is implementing federal vote law
A day after President Bush forwarded to the Department of Justice a letter asking them to investigate whether Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner is following a federal elections law, the Justice Department issued a statement saying they are “pleased” with how Brunner has been working to implement the law.
The Civil Rights Division has been in discussion with Ohio Secretary of State since earlier this week concerning what steps the Secretary has taken to comply with the provisions of the Help America Vote Act regarding state voter registration databases.
The division asked Brunner what her office was doing to ensure that voter registration applications under the name of dead people and duplicate voter registrations would be eliminated before election day.
Brunner, responding to the inquiry, issued a directive late yesterday stating that “no board of elections may suspend the duplicate resolution process for any reason.”
The directive ordered local boards of elections to “continue to investigate whether …. voters are in fact deceased by cross-referencing those names with the list of deceased persons your office receives monthly from the chief health officer.”Â
Civil rights division spokeswoman Jamie Hais said the department is “pleased” with Brunner’s cooperation. She said the department “will continue to monitor the situation in Ohio and take whatever action is deemed appropriate to ensure” that the Secretary of State complies with the Help America Vote Act.
Grey’s Anatomy actress in Centerville today campaigning for Obama
Actress Kate Walsh (right) of Private Practice and Grey’s Anatomy and Executive Producer Shonda Rhimes of Grey’s Anatomy will campaign on behalf of Senator Barack Obama in a series of events throughout the Dayton area today, Oct. 25.
The pair will address campaign volunteers gathered at various events throughout the day dedicate to reaching out to Ohioans and making sure that they are informed of the state’s early vote window.
Here’s the info on how you can go:
Meet & Greet with Campaign Volunteers Campaign for Change Headquarters 1613 E. Main Springfield 12:45pm
Canvassing Wrap-up Event
Campaign for Change Headquarters
7925 Paragon Road
Centerville
2:15PM
Canvassing Wrap-up Campaign for Change Headquarters 55 S. Main St. Middletown 3:30PM
Obama, McCain: Dueling Ohio rallies on Monday
Democrat Barack Obama will kick off the final week of his Ohio campaign for president with a rally on Monday, Oct. 27, in Canton.
Obama’s appearance in Stark County will provide Ohio voters with dueling rallies in the heated race for Ohio’s 20 electoral votes.
At about the same time Obama is due in Canton, Republican John McCain is scheduled to hold a rally in Kettering at the Trent Arena. See earlier blog post for details on that rally.
Obama’s event will be at the Canton Memorial Civic Center, 1101 Market Ave. N.
Doors open at 10:30 a.m. for the 12:30 p.m. event.
This event is free and open to the public, however tickets are required. Tickets will be available on a first come, first served basis, at the locations below.
Tickets will be distributed at the following distribution locations:
Ohio Campaign for Change Office, Downtown Canton 111 2nd St NW, Canton, OH 44702 (330) 452-4746 Distribution Dates and Times: Saturday, October 25th (2-8pm), Sunday, October 26th (2-8pm)
Stark County Democratic Headquarters 4220 12th St. NW, Canton, OH 44708 (330) 452-4746 Distribution Dates and Times: Saturday, October 25th (2-8pm), Sunday, October 26th (2-8pm)
Ohio Campaign for Change Office, Downtown Massillon 35 Erie St N, Massillon, OH 44646 (330) 452-4746 Distribution Dates and Times: Saturday, October 25th (2-8pm), Sunday, October 26th (2-8pm)
Ohio Campaign for Change Office, Downtown Alliance 15 South Arch Ave., Alliance, OH 44601 (330) 341-9954 Distribution Dates and Times: Saturday, October 25th (2-8pm), Sunday, October 26th 2-8pm)
Limited public parking is available on site. Additional public parking is available in area downtown lots.
Public Entrance: McKinley Lobby Entrance, located between the Canton Arts and Entertainment Complex and the Canton Civic Center.
For public inquiries, please call: 330-452-4746.
McCain to campaign in Kettering on Monday
Republican presidential nominee John McCain is coming to Kettering on Monday. He is holding a “Road to Victory Rally” on Oct. 27 at Trent Arena, 3301 Shroyer Road.
The doors for the event open at 10:45 a.m. The doors close at 2 p.m. and the speech is to begin at 2 p.m.
You can RSVP for the event by clicking here.
You can also get tickets at the following locations:
Greene County 3317 Seajay Drive Beaver Creek, OH 45430 Hours of Operation: Saturday 9AM-9PM Sunday 10AM-7PM Monday 9AM
Montgomery County (Downtown) 369 West First St, Suite 201 Dayton, OH 45402 Hours of Operation: Saturday 9AM-9PM Sunday 10AM-7PM Monday 9AM
Montgomery County (Huber Heights) 7580 Brandt Pike Huber Heights, OH 45424 Hours of Operation: Saturday 9AM-9PM Sunday 10AM-7PM Monday 9AM
Montgomery County (Centerville)* 526 Miamisburg-Centerville Rd Dayton, OH 45459 Hours of Operation: Saturday 9AM-9PM Sunday 10AM-7PM Monday 9AM
McCain-Palin campaign bus tour heads to Warren County
The candidates themselves won’t be aboard but the McCain-Palin bus tour scheduled to stop Sunday, Oct. 26, in Warren County will have some celebrities.
The location is: Linda Oda’s barn, 655 E. Lower Springboro Rd, Springboro (just off Rt 48 North……1/4 mile W. of the old Ridgeville Christian School).
The bus is to arrive by 6:15 p.m. so guests should get there by 5:30 p.m. There’ll be hot dogs, chips, music, corn hole competition and treat bags for kids.
Those attending are asked to RSVP to Lori Viars at life1@go-concepts.com life1@go-concepts.com with approximate number of people you want to bring (for food count).
Among those tentatively scheduled to be there, according to organizers, are:
*Patricia Heaton (Spokesperson for Feminists for Life & star of TV show “Everybody Loves Raymond)
*Mary Taylor (State Auditor of Ohio)
Lady Lynn Forrester de Rothschild (former Democrats for Hillary fundraiser, recently seen on Fox News)
Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee (also recently on Fox News)
Former Governor Jane Swift of Massachusetts Betty Montgomery (Former Ohio Attorney General & Auditor)
Jo Ann Davidson (Co-Chair of RNC)
Sandy Froman (NRA Trustee)
Michelle Obama fills in for her husband
After 18 months of campaigning, Michelle Obama knows exactly how many days are left to Election Day.
“So, 11 days to go. I can’t believe it’s 11 days. That’s how we greet each other in the campaign. You say, ‘How ya doin’?’ and you say ‘Eleven.’ Not even ‘fine’ - it’s a number,” Obama joked at a rally with 2,000 supporters at Capital University on Friday, Oct. 24. “But it’s been an amazing year and a half for us. And it has been just fun to watch this country in action.”
Michelle Obama was tapped to fill for her husband at campaign rallies in Columbus and Akron on Friday, Oct. 24 while Democrat Barack Obama visits his sick grandmother in Hawaii.
In Columbus, she thanked people for all the well wishes and prayers for Madelyn Dunham, the grandmother who helped raise Barack Obama. Dunham’s nickname is Toot, Michelle Obama told the crowd.
“She’s doing OK. … She’s tough, her birthday is on Sunday. I always ask Barack, throughout this year, ‘How are you doing this? You are tough.’ And he said the other night, ‘You know I got my toughness from Toot.’ Because she taught him with her quiet confidence, her love and support, that he could do anything.”
Obama talked about her husband’s childhood and her own family upbringing being rooted in the middle class.
Obama said America deserves a leader in Washington who will institute an economic plan built around the middle class, who will begin bringing the troops home from Iraq, who will make college and health care affordable.
“My husband, Barack Obama, gets it,” she said. “He gets it because he has lived it.” U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown both urged supporters to vote early, try to help five people get to the polls on Election Day, and try to convince five undecided Ohioans to vote for Obama.
Michelle Obama echoed that, saying her husband’s campaign needs supporters to work hard for the next 11 days. “We know that every moment counts. We take nothing for granted.”
Boehner asks Bush to get involved in voting dispute
U.S. House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-West Chester, today, Oct. 24, asked President Bush to get involved in the heated dispute in Ohio and other states over compliance with the federal Help America Vote Act (HAVA).
In a letter to the president, Boehner asked Bush to direct Attorney General Michael Mukasey and the U.S. Justice Department to investigate and direct the “appropriate authorities” to comply with HAVA.
In Ohio, the appropriate authority is Democratic Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner. The Ohio Republican Party charges that Brunner is not complying with HAVA because she won’t provide county boards of elections with data on mismatched voter registration information.
Brunner has said there are mismatches on an estimated 200,000 of the nearly 666,000 registrations filed since Jan. 1. Data on the forms doesn’t match drivers’ licenses and Social Security records.
The U.S. Supreme Court dismissed a case brought by the Ohio Republican Party against Brunner, saying a private entity such as the state GOP lacked authority to bring it.
Boehner and other Ohio U.S. House members earlier sent Mukasey a letter asking him to investigate the issue.
Brunner has said the information is available to county boards but not in the way the state GOP is seeking it.
Kevin DeWine, Ohio Republican party deputy chairman, applauded Boehner’s letter.
In a related development, DeWine said he has asked the U.S. Attorney’s office to investigate a recent security breach on Brunner’s Web site.
It’s your turn to be ‘Joe the Plumber’
As the presidential campaign enters its final 12 days, the McCain campaign wants Ohioans to share their “Joe the Plumber” story for a chance to hit the road with the campaign.
“By now, ‘Joe the Plumber’ is a household name and has become a symbol of Barack Obama’s plan to ‘spread the wealth around.’ During a recent campaign event in Toledo, Ohio, ‘Joe the Plumber’ asked a simple question and got a surprising answer from the Democratic nominee. When he asked why Barack Obama’s tax plan was going to punish him for working hard and living the American Dream, Barack Obama responded, ‘When you spread the wealth around, it’s good for everybody,’” the campaign said on its Web site.
If you want to share your stories, “email ohio@mccain08hq.com telling us why you are ‘Joe the Plumber.’ Share your story of working hard, owning a small business and living the American Dream. Include your address and phone number.”
The campaign says ten “Joe the Plumbers” will be selected to embark on an upcoming bus tour across Ohio.
Of course, if you’re chosen make sure to let the Dayton Daily News know about it.
Ohio Dems to Department of Justice: Stay out of our election
In the latest salvo between Ohio Democrats and Republicans on voting in Ohio, a group of Ohio lawmakers fired a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice urging them to stay out of Ohio’s election law enforcement.
The letter was signed by U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio and U.S. Reps. Marcy Kaptur, D-Toledo; Tim Ryan, D-Niles; Zack T. Space, D-Dover; Betty Sutton, D-Copley Twp.; and Charles Wilson, D-Bridgeport.
“The eyes of the nation are once again on Ohio in this critical election, and there is no room for partisan politics that seek to erode voter confidence in Ohio’s election system,” they wrote in a letter to Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey. “We have confidence in the work that is being done by Ohio’s bipartisan group of election officials and by Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner.”
Their letter follows one sent to Mukasey earlier this week by nine of Ohio’s 11 Republican U.S. House members, including House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-West Chester and David Hobson, R-Springfield. They asked him to compel Brunner, a Democrat, to comply with the Help America Vote Act, the federal law that Ohio Republicans say requires Brunner to provide local boards of elections with the mismatch information.
Republicans want Brunner to provide county boards of elections with details of how personal information on new voter registration forms doesn’t match information on drivers’ licenses or Social Security records.
Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court blocked a lower court order directing Brunner to update the state’s voter registration database based on whether information provided by newly registered voters matched other information. The Supreme Court said the Ohio GOP likely would not prevail on the underlying question of whether the lower federal court was authorized to act on a lawsuit brought by a private entity.
The full Democratic letter is after the jump.
A full copy of the letter follows.
October 23, 2008
General Michael B. Mukasey
Attorney General U. S. Department of Justice 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, D.C. 20530-0001
Dear General Mukasey:
We write regarding enforcement of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA). As you know, Ohio and other states are in the midst of carrying out their obligations under Section 303 of HAVA in the face of tremendous increases in voter registration. This surge in registrations is a healthy trend in a democracy.
We are strong supporters of HAVA. As you know, the purpose of HAVA is to ensure that the votes of all eligible voters are counted. We are concerned that complaints about the administration of HAVA in Ohio are designed to reduce the number of legitimate votes that are cast and counted in our state.
It is hard to find another explanation for complaints that are filed with only a few days remaining before the election. To comply with HAVA, former Ohio Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell, a Republican, instituted a voter registration database, known by the acronym SWVRD, in 2006. The State continues to maintain the SWVRD in accordance with federal and state law.
No complaints concerning its implementation or operation were received by the Secretary of State’s office until the Ohio Republican Party initiated litigation on September 26, 2008. The lawsuit sought to compel the Ohio Secretary of State to implement new standards for the SWVRD - standards that are not required under either HAVA or Ohio law. The Supreme Court of the United States recently issued a decision that vacated a temporary restraining order that had directed the Secretary to institute additional procedures under Section 303 of HAVA.
Since the Supreme Court’s decision on October 17, 2008, the case was refiled in state court and then dismissed by the plaintiffs. These proceedings reinforce our understanding of Section 303, which required states to create a system to keep a permanent record of voter registrations and to ensure that localities are able to share and update information regarding voters, in particular, those that move. We are aware of no evidence that indicates the state is operating in anything but a uniform and nondiscriminatory manner. Absent these grounds, the involvement of the Department of Justice is unnecessary as HAVA specifically recognizes that implementation of the act is to be left to the states.
Ohio’s eighty-eight (88) county boards of elections are presently verifying thousands of new registration and voter registration change of name and residence updates in accordance with state and federal requirements. These updates are being processed in addition to the substantial preparations that must be made in anticipation of Election Day. The creation of another process to verify new registrations is unnecessary and has the potential to create confusion and reduce voter turnout. As Ohio saw in the last election, some voters will understandably turn away after waiting for hours on line.
With fewer than two weeks before the presidential election on November 4, 2008, the Department of Justice should resist partisan calls to interfere in the administration of elections in Ohio. According to testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee last year, Republican members of Congress exerted pressure on the Justice Department two years ago to bring an indictment in a public corruption case against Democratic officials before the November election so as to influence its outcome. To his credit, the U.S. Attorney in question resisted this pressure. You should do no less.
The eyes of the nation are once again on Ohio in this critical election. We have confidence in the work that is being done by Ohio’s bipartisan group of election officials and by Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner. We respectfully request that you refrain from taking any action absent more compelling evidence than partisan political requests.
Sincerely,
Sherrod Brown U.S. Senator
Marcy Kaptur U.S. Representative
Tim Ryan U.S. Representative
Zack T. Space U.S. Representative
Betty Sutton U.S. Representative
Charles Wilson U.S. Representative
Eye on Ohio: “Sweat Equity” ad for McCain
By William Hershey | Staff Writer
THE AD: “Sweat Equity,” a 30-second TV ad
PRODUCER: McCain-Palin campaign
WHERE TO SEE IT: Televised in key states, including Ohio
SCRIPT:
Barack Obama: I think when you spread the wealth around it’s good for everybody.
Woman: I’m Joe the plumber.
Woman: I’m Joe the plumber.
Woman: I’m Joe the plumber.
Announcer: Spread the wealth?
Man: I’m supposed to work harder…
Man: Just to pay more taxes.
Man: Obama wants my sweat to pay for his trillion dollars in new spending?
Woman: I’m Joe the plumber.
VIDEO: Ad opens with Democrat Barack Obama’s now famous encounter with Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher — “Joe the Plumber” — on a recent campaign visit to the Toledo area. Obama’s words - “I THINK WHEN YOU SPREAD THE WEALTH AROUND IT’S GOOD FOR EVERYBODY” — are superimposed at the bottom of the screen.
Next comes quick flicks of three women, who each declares “I’m Joe the plumber.”
According to a press release, they’re small business owners. There’s soft music in the background as each declares membership in plumbing. Next comes a picture of a group of small business owners scrolls across the screen with a question superimposed “SPREAD THE WEALTH?”
So far, all the business owners have been white but the next person is a black male who says “I’m supposed to work harder.”
A white guy finishes the thought “Just to pay more taxes.” There’s a brief glimpse of a thoughtful woman who doesn’t speak before a semi-disgusted male appears, asking, “Obama wants my sweat equity to pay for his trillion dollars in new spending?”
Then it’s back to another female who declares “I’m Joe the plumber,” with “I’M JOE THE PLUMBER” superimposed on the screen. A smiling Obama shows up next with the announcer declaring what’s flashed on the screen in sequence - BARACK OBAMA HIGHER TAXES MORE SPENDING NOT READY.
A smiling McCain approves the message to finish off the ad as the “MCCAIN PALIN” campaign insignia appears on the screen.
ANALYSIS: One good thing about this year’s campaign is that McCain and Obama both make occasional campaign stops where they encounter voters who are at least undecided and maybe are outright opponents.
It’s a pleasant contrast from President Bush’s 2004 rallies before robotic crowds of true believers, with any whiff of opposition locked out. This ad explains why campaign handlers like to avoid such meetings. Obama had an actual encounter with Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher — “Joe the Plumber” — and Wurzelbacher had a question about Obama’s tax proposals.
The McCain campaign has turned the encounter into a central part of its effort to cast Obama as a high-taxing, big-spending “socialist” out to destroy job-creating small businesses.
The ad should get a prize for the most effective use of small business owners in a misleading commercial. First, Wurzelbacher is not a small business owner, which means he doesn’t have that in common with the other folks in the ad. It’s likely he would benefit, not lose from Obama’s tax plan. The ad doesn’t say exactly what kind of small businesses the speakers in the ad own but probably not all of them are plumbers.
Neither is Wurzelbacher, at least in the journeyman sense. He is a plumbing apprentice in a program that the state oversees and wants to own his own business. How about the “trillion dollars in new spending” by Obama? The McCain campaign apparently did its own calculations on the cost of Obama’s programs to come up with the figure. A more neutral calculation comes from the New American Foundation, a nonpartisan, nonprofit, Washington, D.C.- based think thank.
The foundation did an analysis of the proposals Obama and McCain made in their speeches at the national political conventions. The tab: Obama proposed $547 billion in annual spending increases and tax cuts while McCain proposed between $524 billion and $563 billion in annual spending increases and tax cuts.
All the Joe the Plumbers in the ad would have to agree that both figures represent lots of money.
Palin goes on attack against Biden comments
TROY — Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin accused Sen. Joe Biden of admitting that Sen. Barack Obama would be unable to handle an international crisis if elected president. Never mind that Biden did not say that, the crowd still cheered wildly at her remarks Thursday, Oct. 23, at Hobart Arena.
It was Palin’s fourth visit to the Miami Valley since becoming the Republican vice presidential candidate.
Palin told the crowd of 6,200 that Biden, Obama’s Democratic running mate, “has informed us that a serious international crisis is certain if Obama is elected and that he is not ready to deal with it.”
“He told Democrat donors to mark his words that there were at least four or five scenarios that will place our country at risk in an Obama administration,” Palin said. “We’ve got to say first, thanks for the warning, Joe.”
She referred to remarks Biden made Sunday at a fundraiser, where he said, “It will not be six months before the world tests Barack Obama like they did John Kennedy.” “As a student of history and having served under seven presidents, I guarantee you it’s going to happen,” said Biden. He told fundraisers Obama would need their support when he has to make tough, and possibly unpopular, decisions to deal with that crisis and the economic mess. But, said Biden, “I think we’re going to put this ship of state in the right hands.”
A review of the audiotape of the speech shows that Biden did not at any point question Obama’s readiness to handle a crisis.
The Obama campaign pointed to former Secretary of State Colin Powell’s endorsement of Obama. “Colin Powell is one of the nation’s foremost experts on national security,” said spokesman Isaac Baker.
McCain/Palin spokesman Paul Lindsay defended Palin’s remarks and said she “was editorializing.”
Jay-Z and LeBron team up for Obama
Grammy Award winner Jay-Z and NBA basketball star LeBron James will rally Barack Obama supporters at an event in downtown Cleveland on Wednesday, Oct. 29. James will play host for the event and Jay-Z, a rapper whose real name is Shawn Corey Carter, will give a concert.
Tickets for the free event at Quicken Loans Arena will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis beginning at noon, Friday, Oct. 24. Tickets will be given out at Obama campaign offices in northeast Ohio. For more information visit OH.BarackObama.com.
Palin sees her face in cornfield
Republican Sarah Palin thanked Ohioans for a warm welcome, especially the farmer near Toledo who created a corn maze in her likeness.
“You’ve found so many ways to make us feel welcome. One of the most unique ways was flying over this great state today, lookin’ down and seein’ my face plowed into a cornfield,” Palin told supporters in Cincinnati on Wednesday, Oct. 22. “That was cool!”
Palin said her daughter, Piper, got a kick out of seeing it from the campaign airplane. Former Ohio attorney general Betty Montgomery, who was also on the plane, said Palin herself seemed to get a big kick out of it too.
Michelle Obama to campaign in Columbus, Akron
While Democrat Barack Obama visits his ailing grandmother in Hawaii, his wife Michelle Obama will campaign on Friday, Oct. 24, in Bexley, a Columbus suburb, and Akron. Mrs. Obama will stress the importance of early voting.
Her visit comes amidst a flurry of Ohio campaign stops by Republicans John McCain and Sarah Palin, McCain’s running mate, who currently have fallen behind the Obama-Biden ticket in most Ohio polls.
Mrs. Obama’s Columbus stop will be at Capital University, at The Arena at the Capital Center, 1 College and Main. Doors open at 10:30 a.m. for the 11:30 a.m. event.
The event is free and open to the public, tickets are not required. Members of the public are encouraged to RSVP at www.oh.barackobama.com
The Akron event is at the David W. Appleby Gym, Buchtel High School, 1040 Copley Road. Doors open at 2 p.m. for the 3:30 p.m. event.
The event also is free and open to the public, tickets are not required. Members of the public are encouraged to RSVP at www.oh.barackobama.com
Parking is limited. Carpooling is strongly encouraged.
Austria gets 60 Plus Association endorsement
State Sen. Steve Austria, who is running for Ohio’s 7th Congressional seat, received the endorsement Wednesday, Oct. 22 of the 60 Plus Association, a senior advocacy group that focuses on issues including the estate tax repeal, Social Security, energy costs, affordable prescription drugs and other senior-friendly issues.
Entertainer Pat Boone, spokesman for the 60 Plus Association, called Austria, R-Beavercreek, a “fighter for the elderly” in making the endorsement.
Austria faces Democrat Sharen Neuhardt of Yellow Springs in November.
Mitakides scores endorsement
Air Force Gen. Merrill McPeak, the former chief of the United States Air Force, last week offered his endorsement to Democrat Jane Mitakides.
McPeak served on the Joint Chief of Staffs from 1990 to 1994. In a release announcing his endorsement, he called Mitakides “a principled person who has her priorities right.”
Mitakides is challenging U.S. Rep. Mike Turner, R-Centerville, in the 3rd Congressional District.
Will “Joe the Plumber” help McCain?
“Joe the Plumber” - Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher from suburban Toledo - may not be a journeyman plumber and he is not a small business owner.
The Republican McCain-Palin campaign, however, is betting heavily that using “Joe” to highlight what they see as problems with Democrat Barack Obama’s tax plans will help win a Republican victory in Ohio and across the nation.
Today, Oct. 23, the McCain-Palin campaign launched a Web video to talk about “Joes” across the country.
[an error occurred while processing this directive]Obama widens lead in Ohio; leads McCain in Florida, Pennsylvania
Democrat Barack Obama has widened his lead over Republican John McCain among likely voters in Ohio in the Quinnipiac University poll, now leading 52-38 percent.
In the poll, released Thursday, Oct. 23, Obama also led McCain in Florida, 49-44 percent and in Pennsylvania, 53-40 percent.
In Ohio, Obama’s lead is up from the 50-42 edge he had on Oct. 1. The Ohio results had a margin of error plus or minus 2.7 percent.
For full poll results, click here.
A separate Big Ten Battleground Poll, also released on Thursday, showed Obama leading McCain 53-41 percent among registered voters and those likely to register - a larger group than the likely voters in the Quinnipiac poll.
Obama’s winning margin is the Quinnipiac poll is largest among results in other recent polls, most of which show a tighter Ohio race. The results also come after the release of a new national Associated Press-GfK poll that shows Obama leading McCain by just one point, 43-42 percent. The same poll three weeks ago had Obama with a 7-point lead.
An average of recent Ohio polls on the Web site RealClearPolitics showed Obama leading by 6 points, 49.7-43.7 percent.
In the Quinnipiac poll, McCain made a slight gain in Florida, where Obama now leads 49-44 percent, compared to a 51-43 percent lead on Oct. 1.
In Pennsylvania, McCain also picked up a point from Oct. 1 but still was far behind Obama. The Democrat leads 53-40 percent now, compared to 54-39 percent the last time.
The economy was the big issue in all three states. In Ohio, voters trust Obama more than McCain to handle the economy, 55-36 percent, compared to 50-39 percent in the last poll.
On foreign policy, voters give McCain a slight edge, 48-46 percent, but Obama is narrowing the gap. In the last poll, McCain had a 53-38 percent edge in handling foreign policy.
“As we enter the home stretch, Sen. Obama is winning voter groups that no Democrat has carried in more than four decades, and he holds very solid leads in the big swing states,” Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac Polling Institute, said in a press release. “If these numbers hold up, he could win the biggest Democratic landslide since Lyndon Johnson in 1964.”
McCain to return for Sunday doubleheader
If it’s Sunday, Republican John McCain must be heading to Ohio. McCain, who campaigned last Sunday, Oct. 19, in Westerville, will hold rallies this Sunday, Oct. 26, in Zanesville and Lancaster.
Doors open at 2:30 p.m. for the 4:30 p.m. rally in Zanesville at the Zanesville High School gym, 1701 Blue Ave.
The Lancaster rally will be at Ohio University’s Lancaster Campus, 1570 Granville Pike. Doors open at 4:15 p.m. for the 6:15 p.m. event.
Here’s information on how to get rally tickets.
ZANESVILLE EVENT TICKET DISTRIBUTION:
Muskingum County Victory Center 1207 Maple Ave. Zanesville OH 43701 740-452-0386 or 614-638-2048 9A. - 9P. Monday - Saturday 12P. - 9P. Sunday
Coshocton County Republican Headquarters 419 Main St. Coshocton OH 43812 740-622-1527 11A. - 7P. Monday - Saturday No Sunday Hours
Guernsey County Republican Headquarters 1038 Maple Ave. Cambridge, OH 43725 614-638-2048 10am - 8pm Daily
Licking County Victory Center 1006B Hebron Road Heath OH 43056 614-657-9984 9-9 Daily
LANCASTER EVENT TIICKET DISTRIBUTION:
Fairfield County Republican Headquarters contact person: Victory County Director Kathleen Young 118 E. Main Street Lancaster OH 43130 740-654-VOTE 9-9 Daily
Fairfield County Northern Victory Office contact person: Victory County Director Kathleen Young 1152 Hill Road North Pickerington OH 43147 740-654-VOTE 9-9 Daily
Franklin County - Ohio McCain HQ 240 North Fifth Street, Suite 300 Columbus, OH 43215 614-441-8097 9-9 Daily
Franklin County East Victory Center 6140 Cleveland Ave. (Atrium Plaza, Suite 2424) Westerville OH 614-638-9521 9-9 Daily
Licking County Victory Center Contact Person: Victory County Director Brian Stout 1006B Hebron Road Heath OH 43056 614-657-9984 9-9 Daily
Pickaway County Republican Headquarters County GOP Chairman Jeff Call 121 W. Main St. Circleville OH 43113 740-420-7059 9-8 Daily
Boehner to Bush: Cut off ACORN funds
House Minority Leader John Boehner Wednesday, Oct. 22, urged President Bush to block all federal funding to the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, or ACORN, which is being investigated in at least 15 states after being accused fraudulently registering voters.
Republicans have sought to link ACORN to Democratic nominee Barack Obama as well as used it to pave the way for accusations of voter fraud. Democrats have denied a link, and said many of the fraudulent registrations were actually brought to officials’ attention by the organization itself, and that there’s no evidence that the fraudulent registrations will actually lead to phony votes on Election Day.
Boehner, R-West Chester, said more than the federal government has given more than $31 million in direct funding since 1998. They estimate the organization has received more money indirectly through states and localities that receive federal block grants.
“In light of recent allegations of voter registration fraud perpetrated by the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), and an investigation initiated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), I respectfully request that you use your authority to block all federal funding directed to this organization and its affiliates until an investigation is complete,” Boehner wrote.
Boehner also sought to link ACORN to the financial meltdown in the letter, linking the organization to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
“ACORN, which for years has been closely connected with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, also appears to have played a key role in the irresponsible schemes that led to the current financial meltdown that caused Congress to pass a $700 billion economic rescue bill,” noted Boehner. “I and a number of my colleagues have requested that the U.S. Department of Justice conduct a complete investigation in this area as well.”
The full letter is after the jump.
October 22, 2008
The Honorable George W. Bush President of the United States The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20500
Dear Mr. President:
In light of recent allegations of voter registration fraud perpetrated by the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), and an investigation initiated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), I respectfully request that you use your authority to block all federal funding directed to this organization and its affiliates until an investigation is complete. I further request that you direct all federal agencies that have released federal block grant funds to states and localities to not release any funds to ACORN and its affiliates until the completion of the investigation.
A preliminary analysis of federal data by my staff has determined that ACORN has received more than $31 million in direct funding from the federal government since 1998, and has likely received substantially more indirectly through states and localities that receive federal block grants. These expenditures are troubling in light of the serious questions that have been raised about ACORN and its conduct throughout the country.
ACORN has been accused of voter registration fraud in at least 15 states. While this organization has flooded voter registration offices with multiple voter registration applications for the same individual, applications with fraudulent names, and even applications for cartoon characters and professional football players, the applications of honest people who only want to exercise their constitutional rights are unnecessarily delayed.
According to the Associated Press, the FBI launched an investigation of ACORN for conducting a “coordinated national scam” following raids of several ACORN offices in different states. Today the New York Times reported that an internal report written by an ACORN attorney expressed concerns about “potentially improper use of charitable dollars for political purposes.”
The same internal report found that the close relationship between ACORN and a supposedly nonpartisan affiliate Project Vote “made it impossible to document that Project Vote’s money had been used in a strictly nonpartisan manner” and that, “we may not be able to prove that 501(c)3 resources are not being directed to specific regions based on impermissible partisan considerations.”
The same New York Times story reported that ACORN “faces demands for back taxes by the Internal Revenue Service and various state tax authorities.” The internal ACORN document referenced by the Times also provides an account of a recent embezzlement scam at the organization that differs from the one that ACORN has provided publicly.
ACORN, which for years has been closely connected with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, also appears to have played a key role in the irresponsible schemes that led to the current financial meltdown that caused Congress to pass a $700 billion economic rescue bill. I and a number of my colleagues have requested that the U.S. Department of Justice conduct a complete investigation in this area as well.
It is evident that ACORN is incapable of using federal funds in a manner that is consistent with the law. Immediate action is necessary to ensure that no additional tax dollars are directed to ACORN while it is under investigation. Until such investigations are complete, ACORN should not receive another penny of American taxpayers’ money. I thank you for your attention to this request.
Sincerely,
John Boehner
Republican Leader
CNN/Time poll: Obama up in Ohio, other key states
In a just-released CNN/Time poll of likely voters, Barack Obama is leading in four states that went Republican in 2004. One of those states is Ohio, where the poll shows Obama leading John McCain 50 percent to 46 percent.
The poll shows Obama’s biggest gain in North Carolina. He leads McCain in this traditionally Republican state 51 percent to 47 percent. The polls also show Obama up in two other states won by President Bush in 2004 — Nevada and Virginia. The poll has Obama ahead in Nevada 51 percent to 46 percent. In Virginia he leads McCain by 10 percentage points, 54 percent to 44 percent.
The poll does show McCain gaining ground in West Virginia. He is leading Obama there 53 percent to 41 percent.
The poll was conducted by Opinion Research Corp and released on Wednesday, Oct. 22.
According to CNN, “the polls of Nevada and Ohio have a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points, while those done of North Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia have margins of error of plus or minus 4 points.”
Ohio among the tops in presidential candidate visits
Presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama and their running mates have visited the Buckeye State 20 times since Sept. 5, putting them among the leaders in candidate attention, according to an analysis of Washington Post data released Wednesday, Oct. 22, by FairVote.
Between Oct. 15 and Oct. 21, the candidates visited Ohio twice, Florida four times, and Virginia twice. Of the states that saw candidate visits during that week, Ohio leads in overall visits. Florida comes in second, with 18 visits, and Pennsylvania is in third with 16 visits.
Information based on data from The Washington Post’s 2008 Campaign Tracker. Visits and fundraisers documented in alternative news sources may not be included.
Ohio also remains among the leaders in campaign ads. Between Oct. 8 and 15, it was ranked second in ad spending.
FairVote is a non-profit, non-partisan organization that studies the impact of electoral rules and systems on turnout, representation and electoral competition.
Registration mismatch hubbub: What do you think?
The latest vote fight between Ohio Republicans and Democratic Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner has focused on mismatched voter registrations.
Republicans want Brunner to provide county boards of elections with details of how personal information on new voter registration forms doesn’t match information on drivers’ licenses or Social Security records.
Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court blocked a lower court order directing Brunner to update the state’s voter registration database based on whether information provided by newly registered voters matched other information. The Supreme Court said the Ohio GOP likely would not prevail on the underlying question of whether the lower federal court was authorized to act on a lawsuit brought by a private entity.
And nine of Ohio’s 11 Republican U.S. House members, including House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-West Chester and David Hobson, R-Springfield, sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey Tuesday, Oct. 21, asking him to compel Brunner to comply with the Help America Vote Act, the federal law that Ohio Republicans say requires Brunner to provide local boards of elections with the mismatch information.
Brunner’s office has said the information is available, just not in the form Republicans want.
What do you think?
[an error occurred while processing this directive]New developments emerge in voter registration mismatch fight
There were new developments on Tuesday, Oct. 21, in the ongoing battle between Ohio Republicans and Democratic Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner over mismatched voter registrations.
*David Myhal, a registered Republican from suburb an Columbus, withdrew his suit in the Ohio Supreme Court, asking the court to compel Brunner to instruct county boards of elections not to process or count absentee ballots cast by voters registered after Jan. 1 before reviewing them for mismatches.
Myhal filed the suit on Friday, Oct. 17, after the U.S. Supreme Court threw out an order from a lower federal court directing Brunner to provide county boards of elections with details of how personal information on new voter registration forms doesn’t match information on drivers’ licenses or Social Security records. This was in a lawsuit filed by the Ohio GOP.
The U.S. Supreme Court said the Ohio GOP likely would not prevail on the underlying question of whether the lower federal court was authorized to act on a lawsuit brought by a private entity.
*Ohio Republican Chairman Robert Bennett said in a press release that he had asked that the Myhal lawsuit be withdrawn in “the interest of negotiating a solution out of court.” Bennett said that he had “reached out” to Attorney General Nancy Rogers to “begin a dialogue” and that a meeting will be held on Wednesday, Oct. 22.
Bennett said that Brunner had indicated she would comply with the order from the lower federal court to assist election administrators.
*Nine of Ohio’s 11 Republican U.S. House members, including House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-West Chester and David Hobson, R-Springfield, sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey asking him to compel Brunner to “comply with the Help America Vote Act. That is the federal law that Ohio Republicans say requires Brunner to provide local boards of elections with the mismatch information.
Brunner’s office has said the information is available, just not in the form Republicans want.
In a press release, Brunner said she was pleased the lawsuit in the Ohio Supreme Court was withdrawn.
“It is my hope that both parties will now come together to support Ohio’s bipartisan election system and allow the preparation and training I have required of our state’s election workers to proceed without further interference so that democracy works for the critical decisions facing our communities, our state and our country,” Brunner said.
Who helps more -“The Boss or the “Redneck Woman?”
Celebrities always flock to political campaigns and this year’s no different.
Both Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama have enlisted movie stars and singers to rally supporters and get out the vote.
Bruce Springsteen - “The Boss” - rocked the Ohio State campus on Oct. 5, drawing thousands of fans to an Obama rally - even if the candidate himself wasn’t there.
McCain is battling back on Wednesday, Oct. 22 when he appears in Cincinnati with country singer Gretchen Wilson of “Redneck Woman” fame. Sarah Palin, McCain’s vice presidential running mate, will be there, too.
Click here for details and how to get tickets.
[an error occurred while processing this directive]McCain back on top in Ohio poll
In the topsy-turvy world of political polling, Republican John McCain now has a 2-point lead in a new Fox News Rasmussen Reports poll of likely voters in Ohio. McCain leads Democrat Barack Obama, 49-47 percent in the poll released Monday, Oct. 20.
A week ago Obama was ahead by 2 points in the same poll, the Democrat’s first lead in Ohio since February. The new poll was taken Sunday, Oct. 19.
Because the poll’s margin of error is plus or minus 3 percent, the results for both weeks basically mean the race is a toss up. For full results, click here.
The results in the poll contrast sharply with the 9-point lead that Obama had over McCain - 51-42 percent - in a Suffolk University poll also released on Monday.
An average of recent Ohio polls by the Web site RealClearPolitics shows Obama leading, 48.3-45.5 percent, a 2.8 percent advantage.
Obama jumps to 9-point lead in Ohio poll; “Joe the Plumber” not a factor
Democrat Barack Obama leads Republican John McCain by 9 points, 51-42 percent, among likely Ohio voters in a poll released today, Oct. 20, by Suffolk University in Boston.
“If Ohio goes for Obama, it may be lights out for McCain,” David Paleologos, director of the university’s Political Research Center, said in a press release.
In the poll, 68 percent of the respondents said that they recognized “Joe the Plumber” - Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher of suburban Toledo. Just 6 percent, however, said Joe’s story - that Obama’s tax plan might hurt him - would make them more likely to vote for McCain. Four percent said they were more likely to vote for Obama and 85 percent were unaffected.
For poll details, click here.
The poll was taken Thursday, Oct. 16 through Sunday, Oct. 19, and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percent.
Strickland to campaign for Obama in Florida
Gov. Ted Strickland will participate in an economic summit on Tuesday, Oct. 21, in Lake Worth, Florida, the Obama campaign said.
Strickland will join Democrat Barack Obama, several state governors, business leaders and economic experts to talk about the economic crisis and creating jobs. The summit includes: Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter, Google CEO Eric Schmidt and former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volker.
Howard Dean in Dayton Tuesday to campaign for Obama
Howard Dean, the Chairman of the Democratic National Committee, will hold a voting rally in support of Barack Obama at the University of Dayton on Tuesday, Oct. 21 at 2:45 PM at the Kennedy Union Ballroom.
Dean, the former governor of Vermont, ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004.
The event is open to the public.
Squirrel disrupts press conference
It would’ve been a normal, everyday political press conference on the steps of the Ohio Statehouse on Monday, Oct. 20.
U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, Gov. Ted Strickland and Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman — all Democrats — stood shoulder to shoulder in dark business suits in front of a battery of news cameras.
But then a guy dressed in a giant orange squirrel costume showed up, waving a poster that said “Don’t Let Obama + Acorn Steal Ohio.”
Even the three Democrats couldn’t help but chuckle at the scene the squirrel caused.
The Ohio Highway Patrol chased the squirrel off the steps behind the three officials but then Squirrel Man stood off to the side until someone from Strickland’s security detail asked him to leave.
Strickland, Brown and Coleman were denouncing Republican John McCain’s use of automatic calls to attack Democrat Barack Obama and urged the Republicans to focus on the issues such as health care and the economy.
“They even resort to things like sending squirrels to press conferences because they have nothing else to talk about,” Coleman said. “Stop being squirrelly and start being straight with the voters.”
Squirrel Man, who was apparently trying to draw attention to controversy about voter registrations conducted by the left-leaning community activist group, ACORN, would not talk after the press conference.
The Dayton Daily News followed Squirrel Man through downtown Columbus but he lost the “tail” somewhere near Ohio Republican Party headquarters.
McCain, Obama still tied in Ohio
A new poll has old news - Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama are still basically tied in Ohio in the race for the White House.
A NBC/Mason-Dixon poll released on Sunday, Oct. 19, shows McCain leading, 46-45 percent.
The poll was conducted Thursday, Oct. 16-Friday, Oct. 17 with 675 likely voters and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percent.
Other NBC/Mason-Dixon polls in battleground states show Obama leading in Wisconsin and McCain ahead in West Virginia.
Man’s yard display hangs Obama ghost from a tree and sparks controversy in Butler County
A Butler County man with a McCain sign in his yard has a ghost hanging from a rope in his tree. The ghost has an Obama sign on it turned upside down.
The man’s Fairfield neighbors are angry about the display and the man is not reluctant to speak his racist views toward Obama. He tells news reporters that he is against Obama because of his race.
The display and the man’s responses have sparked discussion across the Internet on sites ranging from the Huffington Post to the Daily Kos and other local television and news sites.
The video is a Cincinnati news report on this.
Tony Hall to launch “values” tour in Dayton
Former Dayton Congressman Tony Hall, who has endorsed Democrat Barack Obama for president, will launch a “Voting All Our Values” tour on Monday, Oct. 20, in Dayton.
Hall (pictured), a pro-life Democrat, also will appear at events in Bellefontaine and Defiance on Monday. After leaving Congress, he served under President Bush as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations’ Agencies for Food and Agriculture.
The Dayton events, which are open to the public:
Discussion at 10 a.m. at Huffman Place, 100 Huffman Place.
Visit to food pantry at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, 101 Huffman Ave., at 11 a.m.
Hall will be joined by faith leaders and area residents at the events.
The event in Bellefontaine is not open to the public.
The Defiance event is and will be open to the public at 5 p.m. at:
Defiance College
Hubbard Banquet Room in Serrick Center
701 N. Clinton Street
Defiance
Gretchen Wilson to perform with McCain and Palin
County singer Gretchen Wilson will perform at a rally with Republican John McCain and his vice presidential running mate Sarah Palin on Wednesday, Oct. 22 in Cincinnati.
Doors open at 3:30 p.m. for the rally at Air 10, Hangar C-Lunken Airport, 358 Wilmer Ave., Cincinnati. The program is to start at 5:30 p;.m.
Wilson is known for her hit single “Redneck Woman”, among others.
Here’s information from McCain-Palin campaign on how to get tickets to the rally:
Warren County 30 West Main St Lebanon, OH 45036 Hours of Operation: Monday-Saturday 9AM-9PM Sunday 11PM-7PM
Montgomery County (Downtown) 369 West First St Suite 201 Dayton, OH 45402 Hours of Operation: Monday-Friday 10AM-9PM Saturday 10AM-4PM
Montgomery County (Huber Heights) 7580 Brandt Pike Huber Heights, OH 45424 Hours of Operation: Monday-Saturday 9AM-9PM Sunday 11PM-7PM
Montgomery County (Centerville)*
526 Miamisburg-Centerville Rd
Dayton, OH 45459
Hours of Operation:
Monday-Saturday 9AM-9PM
Sunday 11PM-7PM
Greene County 3317 Seajay Drive Beaver Creek, OH 45430 Hours of Operation: Monday-Saturday 9AM-9PM Sunday 11PM-7PM
Hamilton County (Kenwood) 8260 Northcreek Suite 300 Cincinnati, OH 45236 Hours of Operation: Monday-Saturday 9AM-9PM Sunday 11PM-7PM
Hamilton County (West Side) 3339 Harrison Ave Cincinnati, OH 45211 Hours of Operation: Monday-Saturday 9AM-9PM Sunday 11PM-7PM
Hamilton County (Downtown) 105 East 7th Street Cincinnati, OH 45202 Hours of Operation: Monday-Saturday 9AM-9PM Sunday 11PM-7PM 614-286-1880
Clermont County 197 East Main St Batavia, OH 45103 Hours of Operation: Monday-Saturday 9AM-9PM Sunday 11PM-7PM
Butler County (Hamilton) 5964 Golf Club Lane Hamilton, OH 45011 Hours of Operation: Monday-Saturday 9AM-9PM Sunday 11PM-7PM
Butler County (West Chester) 7908 Cincinnati-Dayton Rd Suite i2 West Chester, OH 45069 Hours of Operation: Monday-Friday 10AM-9PM Saturday 11AM-6:30PM Sunday 1PM-6PM
Brown County
506 E. State St
Georgetown, OH 45121
Hours of Operation:
Monday-Friday 4PM-8PM
Saturday 10AM-2PM
Clinton County 1352 Rombach Ave Wilmington, OH 45177 Hours of Operation Monday - Friday 10AM-7PM Saturday 10AM-2PM
McCain: “We’ve got ‘em just where we want ‘em”
WESTERVILLE - Republican John McCain told a sign-waving, cheering crowd today, Oct. 19, that he may be 6 points behind Democrat Barack Obama in national polls but not to worry:
“We’ve got ‘em just were we want ‘em,” McCain told the crowd, estimated at 6,000, at the Rike Athletic Center at Otterbein College in this Columbus suburb.
McCain told the crowd that the pundits who have written him off have forgotten the American people make the final decision on who becomes president.
He invoked the name of “Joe the Plumber” - Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher of suburban Toledo - to tell the crowd Obama’s economic plans would hurt small business and doom economic growth.
Wurzelbacher attracted national attention when he told Obama during a campaign stop that the Democrat’s economic plans would make it hard for him to achieve his dream of buying a business.
McCain chided Obama for telling Wurzelbacher that he wanted to spread the wealth around. McCain said that as president he would spread economic opportunity around for all Americans.
Shane and Katie Wion, who grew up in Piqua, came to the rally with daughter Stella, five months.
“Excellent,” Katie proclaimed after McCain’s 25 minute speech. Shane said he liked McCain’s pledge to shake things up in Washington, D.C. by introducing Sarah Palin, McCain’s vice presidential running mate, to the “old boy network.”
McCain also campaigned in Toledo on Sunday. He is scheduled to return to Ohio on Wednesday, Oct. 22, for a rally in Findlay.
Crowd fills Otterbein gym to hear McCain
WESTERVILLE - A cheering crowd filled the Rike Athletic Center at Otterbein College today, Oct. 19, by 12:30 p.m. to hear Republican John McCain.
It’s McCain’s first Ohio rally without Sarah Palin, his vice presidential running mate, since Sept. 23. McCain also was to speak in Toledo today.
Shane and Katie Wion, who grew up in Piqua, made the rally a family outing. They brought along daughter Stella, just five months old.
“We all work for our own money. We should spend it how we want,” said Katie, holding Stella in her arms.
Outside the center, supporters of Democrat Barack Obama gathered.
“I’m just ready for a new face,” said Jessica Ramey, 20, an Otterbein student.
U.S. Rep. Pat Tiberi, R-Columbus, fired up the crowd by predicting McCain would come from behind and win.
McCain was expected to speak at 1 p.m.
Will Colin Powell endorsement help Obama?
Former Secretary of State Colin Powell (pictured) has been a long-time friend of Republican John McCain and Powell also has spoken favorably of Democrat Barack Obama.
Today, Oct. 19, on “Meet the Press” Powell endorsed Obama for president, adding a new twist to an already heated presidential campaign.
Powell said that he was sorry to disappoint McCain but that the nation needed a “transformational” figure, a role he said Obama could play. Powell also said that he did not think Sarah Palin, McCain’s vice presidential running mate, was ready to become president.
[an error occurred while processing this directive]“Mismatch” legal battle moves to Ohio Supreme Court
Just hours after the Ohio Republican Party lost in the U.S. Supreme Court, the battle over mismatched voter registrations has moved to the all-Republican Ohio Supreme Court in Columbus.
A lawsuit filed on Friday, Oct. 17, against Democratic Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner (pictured) asks the Ohio court to tell Brunner to tell county boards of elections not to process or count absentee ballots cast by voters registered after Jan. 1 before reviewing them for mismatches.
The lawsuit was filed by David Myhal of New Albany, a Columbus suburb. Myhal is a registered Republican in Franklin County and one of his attorneys is William Todd of Columbus who has close ties to the Republican party. The Ohio Republican Party is not an official party to the lawsuit, however.
The new lawsuit deals only with absentee ballots; the U.S. Supreme Court suit included an estimated 200,000 mismatches among nearly 666,000 voters registered since Jan. 1.
The issue is of the “utmost urgency,” the lawsuit says. That’s because Brunner allows county boards to begin removing absentee ballots from their envelopes as early as Oct. 25 and once an absentee ballot is removed from the envelope, its origin is untraceable, the lawsuit says.
Jeff Ortega, spokesman for Brunner, responded to the lawsuit:
“The nation’s highest court has sided with Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner. It’s time for the Ohio Republican Party to stop injecting chaos and confusion into our excellent bipartisan election system.”
The new lawsuit seems more significant than the one before the U.S. Supreme Court, said Edward “Ned” Foley, an election law expert at the Ohio State University law school, because of the requirement that the counties not begin the counting process without using the “mismatch” information.
The new lawsuit was filed late Friday. Earlier Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court threw out an order from a lower federal court directing Brunner to provide county boards of elections with details of how personal information on new voter registration forms doesn’t match information on drivers’ licenses or Social Security records.
The U.S. Supreme Court said the Ohio GOP likely would not prevail on the underlying question of whether the lower federal court was authorized to act on a lawsuit brought by a private entity- the state GOP - as opposed to a governmental entity.
Since Myhal is suing in state court, not federal court, the private plaintiff/government plainiff distinction that the U.S. Supreme Court relied on in throwing out the order does not apply, said Foley.
Brunner has said that an estimated 200,000 of the nearly 666,000 voter registration forms filed since Jan. 1 have mismatched information but that much of it is due to clerical errors. Her office has said a system to check the mismatches exists, just not the one the Ohio GOP is seeking.
The U.S. Supreme Court did not express an opinion on whether Brunner was correctly implementing the federal Help America Vote Act, the law the Ohio GOP said she was not complying with.
In the state case, the Ohio Supreme Court ordered Brunner to respond by Monday and for both sides to submit briefs by Friday, Oct. 24, the day before absentee ballot envelopes are scheduled to be opened.
Eye on Ohio: “90 Percent” ad for Obama
By Scott Elliott | Dayton Daily News
THE AD: “90 Percent”
SCRIPT: John McCain speaking: “Senator Obama, I am not President Bush.” Narrator: True, but he did vote with Bush 90 percent of the time. Tax breaks for big corporations and the wealthy, but almost nothing for the middle class? Same as Bush. Keep spending $10 billion a month in Iraq while our economy struggles? Same as Bush. You may not be George Bush, but …” McCain speaking: “I voted with the president over 90 percent of the time, higher than a lot of my even Republican colleagues.”
VIDEO: The video intersperse video of McCain speaking and looking on during the last presidential debate as words appear next to his head, such as “Tax breaks for big corporations and the wealth” and “Nothing for the middle class.” Three images of McCain together with George Bush are interspersed with other images in the ad. The ad also uses debate video of McCain in which he makes awkward facial expressions and blinks heavily. It ends with archive video of McCain talking about his voting record of supporting President Bush.
ANALYSIS: According to CNN.com, an analysis of McCain’s voting record by the nonpartisan Congressional Quarterly magazine showed McCain did, indeed, vote in favor of bills that Bush had taken a clear position on 90 percent of the time over Bush’s first seven years in office. Only 14 other Republicans voted with the president more often than McCain. By comparison, Joe Biden voted with Bush 52 percent of the time and Barack Obama 40 percent of the time.
However, the year-by-year analysis showed wide variability. In 2007 McCain voted with Bush 95 percent of the time but in 2005 he voted with Bush only 77 percent of the time. The video of McCain talking about his voting record of supporting Bush is from a 2003 interview on Fox News, so it is pretty out of date. While the core charge by Obama is true that McCain voted very often to support President Bush’s agenda, the impression given that McCain is bragging about that today is misleading.
The ad also works hard to link McCain and Bush through its rhetoric and images of the two together and it portrays McCain looking, for lack of a better word, “weird” by picking short clips of debate video in which he made expressions in reaction to Obama’s comments.
Sen. George Voinovich, what do you think of Barack Obama?
According to the Pomeroy Daily Sentinel, Ohio’s senior senator thinks Obama is a socialist.
Voinovich made his comments during a stop at the Meigs County Republican headquarters. The story reports that Voinovich, R-Ohio, applauded Republican nominee John McCain for reaching across the aisle, and urged an end to “partisan bickering.”
But he put aside the diplomacy when talking about McCain’s Democratic competitor.
“He is left of Teddy Kennedy,” Voinovich told the crowd. “With all due respect, the man is a socialist.” .
Brunner wins in U.S. Supreme Court
The U.S. Supreme Court today, Oct. 17, handed Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, a Democrat, a victory in a heated legal battle with the Ohio Republican Party.
The high court threw out an order from a lower court that would have required Brunner to provide county boards of elections with details of how personal information about newly registered voters doesn’t match information on driver’s licenses or Social Security records.
The court issued the decision “per curiam” - acting as a whole, without dissent.
The court ruled that the Ohio Republican Party was not likely to prevail on the question of whether Congress authorized the lower court to take the action the Republicans requested in a lawsuit brought by a private party - the state GOP.
The court expressed no opinion on whether Brunner was correctly implementing the federal Help America Vote law, the law the Republicans said Brunner wasn’t complying with.
The request from the GOP would have impacted an estimated 200,000 of nearly 666,000 voters who have registered since Jan. 1 and whose personal information had mismatches.
Brunner and her allies argued that many of the mismatches were simple ones such as spelling differences. She said implementing the request could have required many voters to cast provisional ballots. Such ballots aren’t counted until 10 days after the election and are “subject to partisan wrangling and legal fights,” she said.
“Our nation’s highest court has protected the voting rights of all Ohioans, allowing our bipartisan elections officials to continue preparing for a successful November election,” Brunner said in a prepared statement.
“We filed this appeal to protect all Ohio voters from illegal challenges and barriers that unfairly silence the votes of some to the advantage of others,” Brunner said in a prepared statement.
Ohio Republican Chairman Bob Bennett said the decision was made on a technicality and called on Brunner to “comply with federal law by providing clear instructions to elections administrators on how to handle questionable voter registration forms.”
“As far as I’m concerned, Secretary Brunner is actively working to conceal fraudulent activity in this election,” Bennett said in prepared statement.
McCain, Obama tied in new Ohio poll
Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama are tied with 49 percent each in a new Ohio presidential poll.
The Rasmussen Reports poll released on Thursday, Oct. 16, was taken on Tuesday, Oct. 14, before the final presidential debate on Wednesday, Oct. 15. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
A poll taken a few days earlier showed Obama leading 49-47 percent.
The new poll also found that just 53 percent of Ohio voters are “very confident” that their votes will be properly counted and that the right candidate will be declared the winner. The Republican Party has challenged Democratic Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner’s handling of the election in several lawsuits.
Republicans say they are guarding against fraud and abuse but Democrats say Republicans are trying to suppress the voter.
For details on the new poll, click here.
McCain back in Ohio on Sunday
Republican John McCain is returning to Ohio on Sunday, Oct. 19, for two rallies.
McCain will appear at a “Road to Victory” rally at Otterbein College’s Rike Center, 160 Center St., in Westerville just outside of Columbus. Doors open at 11 a.m.
Then he’ll hold a rally in Toledo at the Seagate Convention Center, 401 Jefferson Ave. Doors open at 1:15 p.m.
Brunner, McCain react to “observer” court decision
Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, a Democrat, and the Republican McCain-Palin campaign had sharply contrasting reactions to the Ohio Supreme Court decision on Thursday, Oct. 16, requiring that observers be allowed at in-person absentee voting locations. The ruling was 4-3.
Here’s Brunner’s:
“The Ohio Supreme Court has in the absence of authorizing statute, mandated that observers are required at in person absentee voting locations. While some will no doubt use this 4 - 3 divided ruling to support claims of partisanship in election administration, we will do our best to fairly provide for observers at these locations.
“At the same time we will endeavor to protect the rights of voters against voter fraud arising from voter suppression and intimidation and from jeopardy to the secrecy of voters’ ballots in cramped voting locations at small county boards of elections.”
Here’s the reaction from Jon Seaton, McCain-Palin regional campaign manager.
“In light of the FBI’s nationwide investigation into ACORN’s questionable practices, the McCain-Palin campaign strongly agrees with the Ohio Supreme Court ruling today which states that Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner must permit observers in all early voting locations.
“Secretary Brunner had no justification for trying to conduct Ohio’s election in the dark, and we are pleased that the Supreme Court has ruled on the side of transparency.
“Bi-partisan poll observers play a vital role in American elections by helping to ensure that all eligible voters have an honest and open way.”
Brunner must allow observers at early voting
The Ohio Supreme Court said Thursday, Oct. 16, that Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner must allow observers into watch early voting across the state.
Brunner had argued that there was no provision in state law for observers at early voting and that observers were unnecessary since bipartisan county boards of elections were conducting the early voting.
The court ruling 4-3.
“Joe the Plumber” has no license but he can vote
“Joe the Plumber” - whose name was invoked frequently in the presidential debate on Wednesday, Oct. 15 - doesn’t have a plumbing license but he is a registered voter.
Joe Wurzelbacher (pictured with Barack Obama), actually Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher, of suburban Toledo told the Associated Press that he doesn’t need a license to do the residential work he performs for a small company.
Because he works for someone else,he doesn’t need a license, Wurzelbacher told the AP.
There was a big buzz on political blogs on Thursday that he wasn’t a registered voter. He has been registered since 1992, however, said Linda Howe, director of the Lucas County Board of Elections.
However, on his registration card his last name is spelled with an “o” instead of a “u” - Worzelbacher -, Howe said.
“I better talk to my poll workers,” Howe said. When he signs his last name while voting, it is hard to tell if the letter is an “o” or a “u”, she said.
Wurzelbacher could not be reached but told the AP that he has been busy doing live TV interviews.
Republican John McCain gave him the nickname “Joe the Plumber.” Earlier in the week, Democrat Barack Obama encountered Wurzelbacher while campaigning in the Toledo area and he told Obama that Obama’s tax plan would keep him from buying the business where he works. Obama has disputed that.
Wurzelbacher declined to say who he was voting for but voted in the Republican primary last March, said Howe. It was the first time he had voted in a partisan primary, Howe said.
Turner’s campaign retains fundraising edge; Mitakides gets dollars from Springer
With a few weeks to go before the Nov. 4 election, U.S. Rep. Mike Turner’s campaign has maintained its fundraising edge.
As of Sept. 30, his campaign had $587,388 in the bank. Turner’s Democratic challenger, Jane Mitakides, had $90,643 on hand as of Sept. 30.
Turner has raised $1.15 million to date. Of that, the campaign garnered $173,574 between July 1 and Sept. 30.
The campaign spent $168,358 during that period and has spent $720,938 to date. The committee owes $6,995.
Of Turner’s campaign funds to date, $835,272 is from individuals and $$314,761 is from political action committees. PACs gave Turner’s campaign $52,950 between July 1 and Sept. 30. Among the political action committees that gave to his campaign during the last quarter were ABX Air PAC, the political action committee representing ABX Air pilots who fear losing their jobs under a proposal by DHL to allow UPS to carry its domestic air freight. That PAC has given Turner’s campaign $6,000 so far.
His campaign has also benefited from political action committees representing the American Medical Association, BAE Systems, ConocoPhillips and Lockheed Martin. And among the individuals who gave to him during the last quarter were Robert Gray, director of government affairs for ABX Air, Mike Grauwelman, president of the Miamisburg Mound Community Improvement Corporation and Merle Wilberding, the attorney for Mary Lauterbach, whose daughter, Maria, was murdered last year.
Mitakides’ campaign, meanwhile, raised $87,527 between July 1 and Sept. 30, and has raised $358,744 to date. She spent $127,653 between July 1 and Sept. 30 and has spent $318,183 to date. Her campaign owes $50,000.
Of the money Mitakides’ campaign has raised to date $157,683 is from individuals and $82,647 is from political action committees. Mitakides has kicked in $115,913 of her personal money to date, according to reports filed with the Federal Elections Commission, and Mitakides has secured $80,000 in loans so far this campaign. Her campaign has repaid $30,000 of that.
Among her donors are Mark Owens, chair of the Montgomery County Democratic Party, who gave her $250; Victoria Wulsin, a Democrat who is running for Congress in the 2nd Congressional district; and talk show host Jerry Springer, who appeared at a fundraiser for her this summer. Springer gave her $2,300.
Mitakides’ campaign has received political action committee from the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, the Planned Parenthood Action Fund and the National Farmers Union.
The 3rd Congressional District includes all or parts of Montgomery, Warren, Clinton and Highland counties.
Voinovich urges Justice Department to investigate ACORN
Sen. George Voinovich Wednesday, Oct. 15, sent a letter to Attorney General Michael Mukasey urging Mukasey to investigate the voter registration practices of ACORN, a community organizing group that has become an unlikely centerpiece of the final weeks of the presidential campaign.
The group has been criticized and is the subject of investigation in several states for alleged fraudulently registering voters.
“A number of my Ohio constituents have contacted my office to raise concerns regarding statements from ACORN representatives that the voter registration cannot be fraud-free, combined with various accounts about potentially fraudulent voter registration activities,” Voinovich wrote. “I am deeply concerned about such allegations.”
But Voinovich also defended Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, who’s been the subject of criticism from Ohio Republicans. Brunner is a Democrat. Voinovich wrote that he is “confident” that Brunner “is doing what she can to ensure the integrity of the voter registration and election process.”
“If any investigation finds criminal violations, I am sure that you and Secretary Brunner will work to ensure the appropriate prosecution of such matters,” he concluded.
Wulsin raises more; Schmidt has more in the bank
Democrat Victoria Wulsin continues to hold a fundraising edge over U.S. Rep. Jean Schmidt in the race for the second congressional district, raising $1.45 million to Schmidt’s $1.06 million so far in her political campaign.
But Schmidt, R-Loveland, has a little more in the bank, according to reports filed with the Federal Elections Commission Wednesday, Oct. 15.
Schmidt had $346,501 in the bank as of Sept. 30. Wulsin had $304,799.
Wulsin, of Indian Hill raised $365,209 between July 1 and Sept. 30. She spent $438,443 between July 1 and Sept. 30 and has spent $1.17 million to date. Her campaign committee owes $11,395.
Schmidt raised $215,070 during the same period and spent $255,798 during that time. Her campaign owed $277,150, according to FEC reports.
Independent David Krikorian of Madeira, meanwhile, had $95,814 in the bank, and raised $35,328 between July 1 and Sept. 30. He has raised $130,220 to date. He spent $70,960 between July 1 and Sept. 30 and $94,406 to date. His committee owes $60,000.
Who won the third debate?
Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain sparred verbally for 90 minutes on Wednesday, Oct. 15, in their third and final presidential debate.
The debate at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y., was almost certainly the final face-to-face meeting between the two men before the Nov. 4 election, now less than three weeks away.
The stakes were big for both candidates, but probably more so for McCain who has fallen behind Obama in recent national polls. Obama has passed Obama in most Ohio polls, also, but the race appears to be closer in Ohio than it is nationally.
Here’s a chance to evaluate who did the best job in debate number three.
[an error occurred while processing this directive]Jordan maintains huge fundraising lead over Democratic challenger
With less than a month until voters decide whether to return him to office for a second term, U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan’s campaign coffers holds well over 500 times as much cash as his Democratic challenger’s.
Jordan, R-Urbana, has raised $767,496 to date this election cycle, including $144,195 between July 1 and Sept. 30, according to reports filed with the Federal Elections Commission Wednesday, Oct. 15. He has spent $347,518 to date this campaign, including $62,435 between July 1 and Sept. 30, and has $515,598 on hand.
His opponent, Mike Carroll, a Mansfield steelworker, raised $8,790 this quarter and has raised $20,276 to date, according to information from his campaign finance report. He spent $7,904 this quarter and had $886 in the bank as of Sept. 30.
Among Carroll’s donors this quarter was Richard Siferd, Jordan’s 2006 Democratic challenger. He gave $250. Carroll also received money from the Allen County Democratic Women’s Club - $300 - and from the United Steelworkers Political Action Fund, which gave him $2,500.
He spent money this quarter on pencils and emory boards with his name on them as well as $4,670 for “Carroll for Congress” signs.
Jordan raised the bulk of his money from donors inside the state, garnering $200 from former U.S. Rep. Clarence Brown of Urbana. His campaign accepted political action committee contributions including $1,000 from the AK Steel Corporation PAC, which gave $250 to Carroll in May. Jordan also received political action committee money from the American Bankers Association, the Campbell Soup Company PAC and the Humana Inc. Political Action Committee, among others.
In total, his campaign received $73,810 from individuals and $69,385 from political action committees last quarter. Jordan has no campaign debt, according to his report. Carroll acknowledged he faces an uphill battle. “It hurts me, being an unknown in what is considered to be a safe Republican district,” he said. But he said the economy may give him votes that no one expected. “I think I’ll surprise a lot of people,” he said.
The 4th Congressional District includes all or parts of Hancock, Wyandot, Richland, Morrow, Marion, Hardin, Allen, Auglaize, Shelby, Logan and Champaign counties.
Romney to campaign for McCain in Cincinnati
It’s runnerup week on the presidential campaign trail in Ohio.
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney will be in Cincinnati to campaign for fellow Republican John McCain on Thursday, Oct. 16.
The 11:45 a.m. rally will be at the downtown Victory Center, 105 E. 7th St., the McCain-Palin campaign announced.
Romney later will be in Blue Ash, for a 1:45 p.m. tour and press conference at AMP, 11103 Deerfield Rd., Blue Ash.
Romney battled it out with McCain for the Republican presidential nomination but now is campaigning for him
Also this week, Sen. Hillary Clinton, who lost the Democratic presidential nomination to Barack Obama, will campaign for Obama in Youngstown and Delaware County.
Does Hillary really want Obama to win?
Sen. Hillary Clinton will follow her husband Bill, the former president, to Ohio to campaign for Barack Obama for president.
Sen. Clinton of New York will be in Youngstown and Delaware County, north of Columbus, on Friday, Oct. 17, Obama’s campaign announced on Wednesday, Oct. 15.
Former President Clinton is scheduled to campaign for Obama in Cleveland on Thursday, Oct. 16.
Doors open for the Youngstown rally at 10:30 a.m. It will be at the Beeghly Center at Youngstown State University, One University Plaza.
Doors open for the Delaware County event at 2 p.m. It is set for the gymnasium of Buckeye Valley Local High School, 901 Coover Road, Delaware.
Both events are free and open to the public, however tickets are not required. Space is available on a first-come, first-served basis. Members of the public are encouraged to RSVP at www.oh.barackobama.com.
Sen. Clinton finished second to Obama in the bitterly fought Democratic primaries but she and the former president now say they want to do all they can to help Obama win. Some of Clinton’s detractors, however, say she really wants to run for president again in 2012 which would be easier if Obama doesn’t win.
[an error occurred while processing this directive]Will campaigning by Bill Clinton help Obama in Ohio?
Democrats are doing kind of a political relay race this week as they campaign around Ohio for presidential candidate Barack Obama.
Obama has been in Toledo since Sunday, Oct. 12, preparing for his debate with Republican John McCain on Wednesday, Oct. 15. Obama will leave Toledo for the debate on Wednesday. Obama also was in Ohio last Thursday, Oct. 9, and Friday, Oct. 10.
Meanwhile, Joe Biden, Obama’s vice presidential running mate, started a two-day Ohio bus trip today, Oct. 14.
On Thursday, former President Bill Clinton will take the baton. Clinton will be in Cleveland for a rally with doors opening at 4 p.m. The event at Strawbridge Avenue, Mall C, Lakeside, Plaza, is open to the public and no tickets are required. An RSVP is recommended to http://oh.barackobama.com/ClevelandClinton.
[an error occurred while processing this directive]Michael Steele heads for Warren County
Michael Steele, former Maryland lieutenant governor and now chairman of GOPAC, the conservative political action committee, will be in Lebanon in Warren County on Thursday, Oct. 16, to rally supporters for the Republican McCain-Palin presidential ticket.
Steele will speak at Warren County Republican headquarters, 30 W. Main St., at 7 p.m.
Organizers encourage an RSVP to McCain’s Ohio Values Voter Director Jeff Longstreth at jeff@jplgov.com, with your name and a number of people who are coming.
Voting lawsuit charges ACORN with “corrupt activity”
Warren County has become a new battleground in the campaign against ACORN, the advocacy group at the center of controversy over its voter registration activities.
The Buckeye Institute, a Columbus-based conservative think tank, on Tuesday, Oct. 14, filed a lawsuit against ACORN - the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now - in Warren County Common Pleas Court. The lawsuit charges the group with a “pattern of corrupt activity that amounts to organized crime,” a press release said.
Ohio ACORN lashed back at the lawsuit.
“This is an election season stunt, pure and simple,” Mary Keith, Ohio ACORN board member, said in a prepared statement. “We’ve seen the Republican playbook used on us before. They cry foul right up through election day, then all the accusations melt away.”
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Jennifer Miller of Mason and Kimberly Grant of Loveland. They allege that fraudulent voter registrations submitted by ACORN dilute the power of legally registered voters.
The suit seeks the dissolution of ACORN as a legal entity, the revocation of its Ohio licenses and a halt to “fraudulent voter registration and other illegal activities.”
The suit comes as the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections in Cleveland has asked the county prosecutor to investigate multiple registrations by people who signed forms for ACORN.
To see the Warren County suit, click here.
A children’s treasury of campaign ads from the Austria-Neuhardt race
We’ve already shown you Sharen Neuhardt’s first campaign ad.
Now, take a peek at her second ad, as well as four ads from Republican state Sen. Steve Austria of Beavercreek.
Neuhardt, a Yellow Springs Democrat, will face Austria in Nov. 4 in a battle to succeed retiring U.S. Rep. David Hobson, R-Springfield.
Take a look:
Here’s Neuhardt’s:
And you can view Austria’s here, here and here.
Obama tops McCain in two new Ohio polls
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama leads Republican John McCain in two new Ohio polls.
In the Fox News/Rasmussen Reports poll released on Monday, Oct. 13, Obama leads 49-47 percent among likely voters. The results are within the poll’s margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points but it is the first poll from the groups in which Obama has been ahead since tracking of the race began in February, a press release said.
McCain had led by a single percentage point for the past three weeks.
The poll was conducted Sunday, Oct. 12, with 1,000 likely voters. Click here for details.
In a SurveyUSA election poll released on Tuesday, Oct. 14, Obama led 50-45 percent among likely and actual (voters who already voted), just outside the poll’s margin of error of plus or minus 4.2 percentage points.
The poll was conducted Sunday, Oct. 12, to Monday, Oct. 13, with 575 likely voters and voters who already had voted. For full results, click here.
McCain outlines plan for pension and family security
Republican presidential candidate John McCain today, Oct. 14, is to unveil his “Pension and Family Security Plan” to help workers, homeowners and seniors through the current financial crisis.
His proposal come a day after his opponent, Democrat Barack Obama, outlined his “Economic Rescue Plan for the Middle Class” in a Toledo speech.
Highlights of McCain’s proposal include:
Lowering taxes on seniors tapping retirement accounts.
Suspending tax rules that force seniors to sell stocks in the midst of the financial crisis.
Accelerating the tax write-offs for those forced to sell at a loss in the current market.
Reducing capital gains taxes for 2009 and 2010 to raise the incentive to save and invest.
Purchasing mortgages directly from homeowners and mortgage servicers and replacing them with manageable, fixed-rate mortgages.
Eliminating taxes on unemployment benefits.
The new proposal builds on the plan McCain announced last week to use $300 billion of the $700 billion bailout recently enacted by Congress and President Bush to keep Americans in their homes, stop declining housing values and stabilize financial markets. Click here for more on the plan.
McCain also is moving ahead on his “Jobs for America” plan. Click here for more on that plan.
Obama unveils middle class “rescue plan”
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has a four-point “Economic Rescue Plan for the Middle Class.”
Obama was to unveil the plan today, Oct. 13, in a speech in Toledo. Here are the four points, according to the campaign:
Temporary tax credit for firms that create job s in the U.S. over the next two years.
Penalty-free withdrawals from IRAs and 401(k)s in 2008 and 2009.
90-day foreclosure moratorium for homeowners acting in good faith.
A lending facility to address the credit crisis for states and localities that would have the Federal Reserve and federal Treasury lend to state and local governments.
“We’ve already lost three-quarters of a million jobs this year, and some experts say that unemployment may rise to 8 percent by the end of the year,” Obama said in his prepared remarks.
“We can’t wait until then to start creating new jobs.”
Tucker Bounds, McCain-Palin campaign spokesman, dismissed Obama’s proposal.
“The American people heard a series of new proposals from Barack Obama today, but what they did not hear was a promise to stop pursuing his massive tax increases,” Bounds said in a prepared statement.
“As our economy and our financial markets struggle through unprecedented turmoil, one thing is certain: raising taxes on the American people and American business will have a devastating effect.”
Obama has said most Americans would get a tax cut under his plans.
Here are a few more details in a summary from the Obama campaign:
JOB CREATION: A New American Jobs Tax Credit. Obama is calling for a temporary tax credit for firms that create new jobs in the United States over the next two years.
RELIEF TO FAMILIES: Penalty-Free Withdrawals from IRAs and 401(k)s in 2008 and 2009. Obama is calling for new legislation to allow families to withdraw 15% of their retirement savings - up to a maximum of $10,000 - without facing a tax-penalty this year (including retroactively) and next year.
RELIEF TO HOMEOWNERS: 90 day foreclosure moratorium for homeowners that are acting in good faith. Financial institutions that participate in the Treasury’s financial rescue plan should be required to adhere to a homeowners code of conduct, including a 90-day foreclosure moratorium for any homeowners living in their homes that are making good faith efforts pay their mortgages.
RESPONDING TO THE FINANCIAL CRISIS: A Lending Facility to Address the Credit Crisis for States and Localities. Obama is calling on the Federal Reserve and the Treasury to work to establish a facility to lend to state and municipal governments, similar to the steps the Fed recently took to provide liquidity to the commercial paper market.
Obama’s plan also calls for temporarily eliminating taxes on unemployment insurance benefits; keeping all options on the table to help our automakers weather the financial crisis; having the Fed and Treasury prepare for guaranteeing a broader range of liabilities of the banking system; and instructing Treasury to help unfreeze markets for individual mortgages, student loans, car loans, loans for multi-family dwellings and credit card loans.
Marist Poll: Obama ahead in Ohio
Democrat Barack Obama leads Republican John McCain 48 points to 40 points among registered Ohio voters and 49 to 45 among likely Ohio voters, according to The Marist Poll released Monday, Oct. 13.
A month ago, the Marist Poll had Obama and McCain tied at 44 points each.
Among independent voters, 47 percent support McCain, 44 percent support Obama and 6 percent are undecided, according to the latest poll conducted by the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
The poll said both presidential candidates are viewed favorably by a majority Ohio voters, Obama’s running mate Joe Biden is seeing an upswing in his popularity, and McCain’s running mate Sarah Palin is seeing a decline in popularity.
The telephone poll was conducted Oct. 5 to Oct. 8 with 961 registered Ohio voters and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percent.
[an error occurred while processing this directive]Schmidt recovering from hit-and-run injuries
U.S. Rep. Jean Schmidt, who was struck by a hit-and-run driver last week while jogging near her Loveland home, has been diagnosed with two broken ribs and two fractured vertebrae as a result of that incident.
Schmidt, who was hit Wednesday, Oct. 8 at about 5:45 a.m., sought medical treatment after being hit on Loveland-Miamiville Road, but was treated, released, and back at work in her district office by Wednesday afternoon.
Her spokesman, Bruce Pfaff, said she thought she was just bruised.
But when Schmidt left Friday for a congressional trip to Afghanistan, it became obvious she was more seriously injured than doctors had originally thought.
“Upon landing at the United States Air Force base in Germany on her way to Afghanistan, Rep. Jean Schmidt experienced a great deal of pain and was temporarily unconscious,” Pfaff said. “She was immediately taken to a local hospital where upon a CT Scan it was revealed that the incident on Wednesday when she was struck by a hit and run driver had caused more injuries than first detected at a local Cincinnati Hospital.”
Schmidt was diagnosed in Germany with two fractured vertebrae and two broken ribs that x-rays did not previously detect.
She was treated in Germany and flew back to Cincinnati for examination and further treatment at University Hospital in Cincinnati, and is now “supposed” to be resting, Pfaff said. He said the campaign will reassess her schedule later in the week, depending on how she is healing.
Police continue to search for the person driving the dark-colored sedan that hit Schmidt.
Schmidt, a Republican, will face Democrat Victoria Wulsin and independent David Krikorian in the Nov. 4. election.
Who helps more - Biden or Palin?
If Sarah Palin visits St. Clairsville and Marietta, can Joe Biden be far behind?
Actually, Biden, the Democratic vice presidential candidate, will be about two days behind Palin, the Republican vice presidential candidate.
Palin campaigned in Marietta and St. Clairsville in eastern Ohio on Sunday, Oct. 12, and Biden is expected there on Tuesday, Oct. 14, as both campaigns ramp up efforts in Ohio’s Appalachian region, a key political battleground.
Biden’s stop will be part of a two-day bus trip through eastern Ohio. On Tuesday, he’s also visit Warren and Marietta and on Wednesday, Oct. 15, he’s expected in Athens, Lancaster and Newark.
Palin and Biden have the same job - to help the person at the top of their ticket in Ohio - Republican John McCain for Palin and Democrat Barack Obama for Biden.
Here’s a chance to say who you think helps th emost.
[an error occurred while processing this directive]Is Ohio’s neighbor, West Virginia, moving toward Obama?
Ohio’s eastern neighbor, West Virginia, has only five electoral votes. But, those five electoral votes have been heavily predicted to be in John McCain’s column on Election Day.
Recent polls are showing that McCain’s lead in West Virginia is shrinking and that state may be becoming more competitive after recent weeks of negative economic news.
A CNN/Time poll in late September showed McCain with a very small lead over Obama, 50-46. A recent American Research poll taken in the first week of October shows Obama winning in West Virginia, 50-42.
West Virginia voted for President Bush twice, but voted for Bill Clinton twice as well. The state even went for Democrat Michael Dukakis in 1988.
The fact that West Virginia may be in play may explain why Republican Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin is campaigning in St. Clairsville, Ohio, just 12 miles west of Wheeling, West Virginia, on Sunday, Oct. 12. Democrat Vice Presidential nominee Joe Biden will be in the same town on Tuesday, Oct. 14. Obama has opened 21 offices across the state.
According to CNN, Palin had planned a tour through Pennsylvania in the coming week, but just added stops throughout West Virginia.
Alaska inquiry finding: Palin abused power
The Associated Press, in an article by Matt Apuzo, just reported that an Alaska legislative panel decided GOP vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin unlawfully abused her power as governor in the investigation of a trooper who used to be her brother-in-law.
Here’s the just released AP story…
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Sarah Palin unlawfully abused her power as governor by trying to have her former brother-in-law fired as a state trooper, the chief investigator of an Alaska legislative panel concluded Friday. The politically charged inquiry imperiled her reputation as a reformer on John McCain’s Republican ticket.
Investigator Stephen Branchflower, in a report by a bipartisan panel that investigated the matter, found Palin in violation of a state ethics law that prohibits public officials from using their office for personal gain.
The inquiry looked into her dismissal of Public Safety Commissioner Walter Monegan, who said he lost his job because he resisted pressure to fire a state trooper involved in a bitter divorce with the governor’s sister. Palin says Monegan was fired as part of a legitimate budget dispute.
The panel found that Palin let the family grudge influence her decision-making even if it was not the sole reason Monegan was dismissed. “I feel vindicated,” Monegan said. “It sounds like they’ve validated my belief and opinions. And that tells me I’m not totally out in left field.”
Branchflower said Palin violated a statute of the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act. Palin and McCain’s supporters had hoped the inquiry’s finding would be delayed until after the presidential election to spare her any embarrassment and to put aside an enduring distraction as she campaigns as McCain’s running mate in an uphill contest against Democrat Barack Obama.
But the panel of lawmakers voted to release the report, although not without dissension.
“I think there are some problems in this report,” said Republican state Sen. Gary Stevens, a member of the panel. “I would encourage people to be very cautious, to look at this with a jaundiced eye.”
The nearly 300-page report does not recommend sanctions or a criminal investigation.
Palin’s smokin’ arrival
Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin arrived for her campaign rally near Wilmington in a big black Straight Talk Express bus, which drove right onto the convention center floor. With dry ice smoke shooting into the air, multi-colored lights flashing in the darkened Roberts Centre and pounding music blaring, the bus seemed to come out of the wall itself. It was something to see, and the crowd of 10,500 loved it.
Not long ago Sen. John McCain disdainfully dismissed his Democratic opponent, Sen. Barack Obama, as a celebrity with rock star appeal. Now the McCain campaign has its own candidate making a rock star-style entrance, complete with smoke and, apparently, mirrors.
Just before the bus burst in, what the audience saw on a giant projection screen was the bus barreling up the road toward the convention center. Anticipation was high, particularly because U.S. Rep. Mike Turner, R-Centerville, had promised Alaska Gov. Palin would have “a great big entrance.” On screen the long bus came closer, closer, closer and then BAM! there it was inside the hall, coming though a giant door to the side of the stage. Moments later, Palin emerged to take the stage and deliver a blistering speech attacking Obama and touting the McCain/Palin ticket.
But the video apparently was not exactly as it seemed. Long after the Palin people had cleared out, one of the workers in charge of tearing down the stage said the whole thing had been practiced in advance. Although it appeared to be live, he said the video was on a time delay so the bus could first stop and let all the national press people off and get them in place inside the convention center. Once that was done, the video could be played and the grand entrance made.
McCain/Palin spokesman Paul Lindsay did not respond to a request for comment.
Crites files complaint against Cordray
Republican Mike Crites filed a complaint with the Ohio Elections Commission on Friday, Oct. 10, that seeks to have his opponent in the race for attorney general, Democrat Richard Cordray, tossed off the ballot over an improper campaign contribution — a move that appears to be a long-shot.
“There is no relationship between contributions to my campaigns and actions of my office. None,” Cordray said. “And as such, we believe strongly and will show that this action has no merit.”
Crites argues in the 6-page complaint that Cordray, who is state treasurer, knew or should have known that a $10,000 contribution from Lindsey Kuty came from someone else. Kuty, who was 21-years-old when she donated the money, is the stepdaughter of Wachovia Securities broker Montford Will.
After the contribution, Wachovia’s bond trading business with the treasurer’s office jumped from about 1 percent during the previous six years to 37.5 percent under the Cordray administration.
Cordray has said he knew nothing about the Kuty contribution. He returned it soon after the Dayton Daily News told Cordray that Will said the $10,000 came from Kuty’s mother, not Kuty.
State elections law prohibits giving money in someone else’s name and knowingly accepting contributions given in someone else’s name. Anyone convicted of violating this section could be forced to forfeit his party’s nomination for elected office, according to Crites’ complaint. If this isn’t sorted out until after the election and Cordray wins, Crites wants the election nullified and the second highest voter getter to be declared the winner.
“The Ohio Elections Commission has never invoked any provision like that in its history,” said Phil Richter, commission director since 1996.
Richter said the commission will consider the complaint after the Nov. 4 election. “This is not a matter that requires an automatic expedited review,” he said.
He also noted that Crites would have to bring evidence that Cordray knew the contribution was in someone else’s name before the commission could make a finding against Cordray. And the commission can refer its findings to the county prosecutor, who can seek convictions in court.
Obama proposes small business rescue plan
CHILLICOTHE -With the economy still staggering from the falling stock market, Democratic presidential candidate on Friday, Oct. 10, unveiled a small business rescue plan aimed at getting more money to job-producing companies.
Obama said the plan would be similar to efforts after 9-11 to help start up firms, restaurant and shops like those here in Chillicothe.
It will include a program to provide affordable, fixed-rate loans to small businesses to be run through the Small Business Administration’s Disaster Loan Program, he said.
It also would include expanding SBA guarantees to encourage private lending to small businesses and temporary tax incentives for small businesses.
Blair Latoff, spokeswoman for the Republican National Committee, brushed off Obama’s proposal.
“In an economic downturn it makes absolutely no sense to raise payroll and income taxes on the backbone of America’s job creating small businesses but that’s exactly what Barack Obama is proposing,” she said in a prepared statement.
“Obama’s tax policies will result in a top tax rate of over 55 percent for many small businesses. You don’t have to be an economist to know that taking money from the engine of our economy and giving it to the federal government is not a recipe for economic recovery.”
Obama toned down his attacks on his Republican opponent John McCain - they were harsh on Thursday, Oct. 9 - to focus more on encouraging Americans to pull together and not be swept up with fear. He harked back to President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s efforts to get the country through the Great Depression.
“It’s been about rising to the moment when the moment is hard; about having to be Americans, about rejecting panicked division for purposeful unity…. “That’s why we remember that some of the most famous words ever spoken by an American came from a President who took office in a time of turmoil - ‘The only thing we have to fear is fear itself,’ Obama told the crowd of about 5,000 gathered outside the Ross County Courthouse on a cool fall day.
It was Obama’s third event in Ohio’s Appalachian region and Gov. Ted Strickland, a native of the region, urged the crowd not to be swayed by efforts by the McCain-Palin campaign and their followers to discredit Obama. Success with the regions moderate and conservative Democrats is critical to Obama’s campaign.
Hunters and gun owners have nothing to fear from Obama, said Strickland.
“You have nothing to fear from Barack Obama,” Strickland said. “…Unfortunately there have been those who have tried to spread untruths about Barack Obama. Barack Obama is a strong, Christian family man….the McCain-Palin campaign and unfortunately some of their followers would want you to be afraid of Barack Obama.”
New poll: Ohio race still tight
A new poll released today, Oct. 10, shows the presidential race in Ohio is a virtual tie between Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain.
In the poll from Strategic Vision, a public relations company, the Obama-Biden ticket led the McCain-Palin ticket, 48-46 percent. The poll was conducted Monday, Oct. 6-Wednesday, Oct. 8 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
Click here for the full results.
[an error occurred while processing this directive]Former Mead worker to introduce Obama in Chillicothe
It’s not hard to find economic despair in Ohio and Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama plays up that theme at every stop on his two-day campaign swing through the state.
Today, Oct. 10, in Chillicothe, Obama will be introduced by Matt Kendall, who lost his job in 2002 at the Mead paper plant in that Ross County city in a massive layout, the Obama campaign announced.
The introduction follows the pattern of Obama’s first day on the Ohio campaign on Thursday, Oct. 9. In Dayton, Tony Curington, who took a buyout from Delphi introduced him and in Cincinnati Raquel Huseman, who took a buyout from Ford after working at the Batavia plant, introduced him.
Kendall, the Chillicothe worker, has been laid off a number of times since 2001 and currently is unemployed, Obama’s campaign said. Ohio has lost nearly 200,000 jobs since President Bush took office in January of 2001 and Obama has made creating new jobs a major campaign theme.
Obama also will campaign in Columbus today before heading for Pennsylvania.
Obama chows down and chats up with voters in Georgetown
GEORGETOWN - On his first stop in Ohio’s Appalachian region during a two-day campaign swing, Democrat Barack Obama chowed down and chatted it up with customers at the Fireside Restaurant in Georgetown in Brown County.
“Oh, my God,” waitress Heather Shepherd said on Thursday, Oct. 9, after meeting him. “I am awe struck. It was just awesome.”
Accompanied by Gov. Ted Strickland, who had pushed for the Appalachian campaign stops, Obama ordered a “Big O” cheeseburger sandwich and coconut cream pie.
Mayor Dale Cahall, whose son Nathan is Centerville economic development administrator, said he thinks Obama can carry the county even though President Bush won the county with more than 60 percent of the vote in 2004.
“;I just think he’s more in touch,” said Cahall, who was accompanied by his wife Barbara.
Strickland has encouraged Obama to campaign in person in Appalachia to court moderate and conservative Democrats.
Obama promises “rescue plan for Main Street” to Cincinnati crowd
CINCINNATI-Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama told a cheering Cincinnati crowd on Thursday, Oct. 9, that if elected president he would look out for Main Street as well as Wall Street.
Obama told the estimated 15,000 people gathered in Ault Park in the Hyde Park neighborhood that the $700 billion financial bailout passed by Congress was necessary but that it wasn’t enough.
“What we need to do now is pass a rescue plan for Main Street,” said Obama.
As he did at an earlier stop in Dayton, Obama blasted Republican John McCain’s leadership as “erratic” and unfit for uncertain economic times. As president, Obama promised to be a “steady” hand.
He said McCain’s proposal to order the Treasury Secretary to buy up bad mortgages at their full face value rather than reduced values would cost taxpayers money and benefit the greedy bankers and lenders who caused the financial crisis in the first place.
Tucker Bounds, McCain campaign spokesman, said in a prepared statement that McCain’s plan wouldn’t cost taxpayers anything and accused Obama of putting politics above the nation’s critical needs.
Despite the seriousness of the financial crisis, there was almost a festive air in the park under a sunny, blue sky as the crowd repeatedly chanted “O-Ba-Ma.”
Edna Falconi came to the rally from Hamilton in Republican leaning Butler County where she’s been working as a volunteer for Obama.
“I’m worried about my Social Security,” said Falconi, 60, a retired accounting clerk. Falconi said she fears Obama would invest Social Security in the stock market.
James Neal Jr. and his wife Gloria also came from Hamilton and brought along their two sons, James and Justin.
“This is just history,” said Gloria Neal. “I had to come.”
Those glasses! That hair!
The “Palin Power” t-shirt that will be sold at tonight’s Wilmington appearance by Republican vice presidential candidate Gov. Sarah Palin is the creation of Amy Gantt, wife of Montgomery County Republican Party Chairman Greg Gantt.
Mrs. Gantt’s Lulabell Designs has sold a couple hundred of the shirts for $15 a piece, said Mr. Gantt.
He said he gave one of the shirts to Meghan McCain, daughter of Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain, during her visit here on Saturday. Her website includes a photograph of a guy named Josh holding the “Palin Power” t-shirt.
Eye on Ohio: Obama ‘Coin’ ad
By Jessica Wehrman Dayton Daily News
THE AD: “Coin,” 30 seconds.
PRODUCER: The Obama-Biden campaign
WHERE TO SEE IT: Key states across the country.
SCRIPT: Barack Obama: I’m Barack Obama and I approve this message.
Announcer: On health care, there are two sides. Barack Obama would require insurance companies to cover routine treatments, like vaccines and mammograms. John McCain would deregulate the insurance giants … letting them bypass patient protections in your state. Obama would force insurance companies to cover pre-existing conditions. McCain would let them continue to do as they please. Isn’t your health care too important to be left to chance?
VIDEO: The image begins with a shot of Obama meeting with a couple. It then flips to a shot of a dime flipping through the air. The coin then shows an image of Obama with the words “cover routine treatments like mammograms.” Then the image in the coin becomes a black and white shot of McCain. Text on the screen reads: “McCain: Let Insurance Giants Bypass Patient Protections. The image shifts to one of Obama meeting with people, and the text on the screen reads: “Obama: Cover Pre-existing Conditions.” Then the image shifts again to McCain, this time with President Bush. The text is “McCain: Let Insurance Companies Deny Coverage.” The video concludes with a shot of the dime dropping.
ANALYSIS: The fight over deregulation has moved from banks to health care, with Barack Obama reviving an argument that McCain’s health care proposals would be akin to the now heavily-criticized deregulation of the banking industry.
Obama’s aim with this ad is to paint McCain as out-of-touch on an issue that is important for most Americans, and he paints McCain as letting insurance companies wreak havoc through deregulation while Obama would require insurance companies to do more.
McCain has argued for opening up the health insurance market to more vigorous competition and offering more choices by loosening state-based regulation. His plan would give families up to $5,000 in tax credits to buy insurance but would begin taxing the value of health benefits that people get through work.
Obama has criticized the approach as a “shell game” that gives and takes tax money.
Obama’s health care plan, meanwhile, would aim for universal coverage through a mixture of private and expanded public insurance. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, he would require employers to offer “meaningful” coverage or contribute a percentage of payroll towards the costs of a public plan. Small businesses would be exempt. Obama would require all children to have health insurance.
Michael Tanner of the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, said Obama’s approach would force employers to have to find a way to offset added costs, including by raising prices, lowering wages or reducing future wage increases. He also criticized his plan as locking employers further into an employment based health insurance system at a time when “we should be moving in the opposite direction.”
But Obama supporter and Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, in a conference call with reporters, argued McCain’s plan would “dismantle state-based regulation and tie the hands of those involved in consumer protection,” and suggested that deregulation of health care would lead to the same troubles that the deregulated banking industry now faces.
McCain’s campaign, unsurprisingly, disagrees. They argue Obama’s plan is a big-government solution that would do little more than stretch an already-stretched federal budget and create a cumbersome new bureaucracy.
Obama blasts McCain’s “erratic and uncertain leadership”
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama told a cheering Dayton crowd today, Oct. 9, that the nation can’t afford Republican John McCain’s “erratic and uncertain leadership” in uncertain times
Obama said that McCain’s plan to direct the Treasury Secretary to have the government buy up bad mortgages would hurt taxpayers and reward irresponsible lenders.
He said that the plan McCain announced Tuesday, Oct. 7, at the presidential debate in Nashville wasn’t really a new one. The problem is the way McCain would carry it out, Obama said.
“Senator McCain actually wants the government to pay the full face value of mortgages on the books,” he said at the rally at Fifth Third Field. The Obama campaign estimated the crowd at 8,500.
Using more than $300 billion like this would reward Wall Street greed and irresponsibility and wouldn’t change the behavior that caused the crisis, said Obama.
McCain at first proposed that the government buy the mortgages at marked down rates and then shifted positions, Obama said.
“Well, I don’t think we can afford that kind of erratic and uncertain leadership in these uncertain times,” said Obama. He promised to be a steady leader.
“… that’s why im running for President of the United States of America,” he said.
The McCain campaign lashed back.
“John McCain’s homeownership resurgence plan represents absolutely no new expense to the taxpayer, but simply refocuses priorities to more directly assist the homeowners who are hurting instead of greed on Wall Street,” Tucker Bounds, McCain-Palin campaign spokesman said in a prepared statement.
Bounds said it was the latest example of Obama “putting politics above the national interest.”
Despite his blasts at McCain, Obama struck an upbeat note with the crowd gathered under a sunny blue sky.
He said that despite uncertain times, Americans will pull together with courage and innovation to create new jobs in Dayton and across the country. Together, we cannot fail, he said. He asked his supporters to renew their efforts to win the election.
“…if you want an economy that rewards work, and that works for Main Street and Wall Street, if you want tax relief for the middle class and millions of new jobs, if you want health care you can afford and education that helps your kids compete, then I ask you to knock on some doors, make some calls, talk to your neighbors, and give me your vote on Nov 4th. And if you do, I promise you - we will win Ohio, we will win this election, and then you and I - together - will change this country and change this world. Thank you, God bless you, and may God bless America,” he said.
From Dayton, Obama headed out about 2 p.m. for Cincinnati and another rally before ending the day at a rally in Portsmouth in Scioto County in Ohio’s Appalachian region.
Obama fared poorly in Scioto County and the rest of Appalachia in the Ohio Democratic primary which Hillary Clinton won.
Clinton got more than 80 percent of the vote in Scioto County. Gov. Ted Strickland, who’s from Duck Run not far from Portsmouth, has said it’s important for Obama to make his appeal personally before the conservative and moderate Democrats in the region whose support will be critical in the general election. Strickland was with Obama in Dayton and is expected to be with him in Portsmouth.
On Friday Obama will campaign in Chillicothe in Ross County and Columbus before heading for Pennsylvania, another battleground state. Chillicothe also is in Appalahcia and Sen. Clinton won Ross County in the Democratic primary with nearly 70 percent of the vote.
McLin warms up crowd
Dayton Mayor Rhine McLin, who recently announced her own re-election plans, warmed up the crowd on Thursday, Oct. 9, for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama’s rally at Fifth Third Field.
“Sen. Barack Obama has vision and plans that will help change the direction of our country,” McLin told the crowd, gathered on a sunny day, with not a cloud in the blue sky.
“He is committed to bringing those job opportunities back home again by ..a new approach to old problems,” she said.
She compared him to Dayton visionaries such as Charles Kettering and John Patterson.
McLin spoke about 11:05 a.m. with Obama expected about 11:20 a.m.
“Sen. Obams is the only candidate with an original plan, not one warmed over (for) eight years,” she said.
She told them to choose the candidate that was the most “innovative and original.”
The crowd chanted “yes, we can.”
Forner Delphi worker to introduce Obama
Tony Curington, a former Delphi worker, will introduce Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama at the rally today, Oct. 9, at Fifth Third Field in Dayton, Obama’s campaign announced.
Curington worked at Delphi from 1985-2006 and took a buyout after the company filed for bankruptcy, the campaign said.
After leaving Delphi, Curington became a consultant with Workforce Services Unlimited, a for-profit company largely funded through government grants that works to direct displaced workers into training programs, the campaign said.
In June of 2008, the plant that Curington worked at was closed down completely, and currently his primary responsibility at WSU is to work with the displaced workers of his old plant, the campaign said.
Obama has made creating renew jobs a top priority, a key state in Ohio which has lost nearly 200,000 jobs since Republican President Bush took office in January of 2001.
Mich., Ohio rank 1-2 in campaign visits - so far
The Ohio State-Michigan football game still is more than a month away, but Michigan leads Ohio so far in one political battle - campaign visits by presidential candidates.
According to FairVote, Michigan (12.4 percent) and Ohio (10.3 percent) rank 1-2 so far in the percentage of visits the candidates have made to the states since Sept. 5, the day after the Republican National Convention.
That’s likely to change, however, with Republican John McCain’s recent decision to pull out of Michigan, where Democrat Barack Obama has a big lead. Here’s the rest of the most-visits Top Ten.
Pennsylvania—9.3%
Colorado—8.3%
Virginia—8.3%
Missouri—7.2%
Florida—6.2%
Wisconsin—6.2%
New York—5.2%
New Mexico—4.1%
Click here for an interactive look at the candidates visits to Ohio.
For a complete listing of the candidates visits to all 50 states, click here.
FairVote is a non-profit, non-partisan organization that studies the impact of electoral rules and systems on turnout, representation and electoral competition.
John Kasich campaigning for local statehouse candidates
Former U.S. Congressman and Fox News contributor John Kasich will be in the Dayton area to raise money for Seth Morgan and Terry Blair.
Morgan is running for the 36th Ohio House District, Blair is running for the 38th in November.
The event is at TesTech, 8534 Yankee Street. Cost for the event is $75 per person or $100 per couple.
Click here for more information.
Schmidt accuses Wulsin of lining up post-election gig; Poppycock, Wulsin replies
Does Democrat Vic Wulsin have a gig lined up under the assumption that she’ll lose the Second Congressional District race?
That’s what a press release issued Wednesday, Oct. 8, by U.S. Rep. Jean Schmidt’s campaign spokesman suggests. The release cites a newsletter from Mount Kenya University - in Kenya - that says that Wulsin has agreed to serve as chancellor of the school.
“This is truly bizarre,” said Bruce Pfaff, a Schmidt spokesman. “She already has a job lined up outside the country ending some five years of unemployment. I can’t imagine her donors are thrilled at the timing of her announcement.”
Not so fast, said Wulsin’s spokesman, Kevin Franck. He says the job is an unpaid, honorary job that does not require her to do more than occasionally visit Kenya. He said Wulsin accepted the title months ago, and has no plans to move out of the United States.
Schmidt, R-Loveland, and Wulsin, D-Indian Hill, as well as independent David Krikorian of Madeira all hope to win the 2nd District seat, which includes all or parts of Hamilton, Warren, Clermont, Brown, Adams, Pike and Scioto counties.
Guess where Obama’s prepping for his next debate?
If you guessed Ohio, you’re right.
Barack Obama’s campaign announced Wednesday, Oct. 8, that Obama will be in Ohio next week to prepare for the final presidential debate on Wednesday, October 15th at Hofstra University in New York.
He did debate prep in Florida before the first debate and North Carolina before last night’s debate.
We’ll post additional details as we get them.
And let us note this isn’t the only Ohio connection to the debates. Former U.S. Rep. Rob Portman, R-Terrace Park, has been playing the part of Obama in earlier McCain debate preps.
Hobson’s throwing a retirement party; You’re invited
Retiring U.S. Rep. David Hobson is hosting a farewell reception and open house at the Champions Center at the Clark County Fairgrounds, 4122 Laybourne Road, Gate D, in Springfield on Sunday, Oct. 19 from 2 to 5 p.m.
The event will be paid Pioneer Political Action Committee and is open to the public. Hobson, R-Springfield, has served as the 7th District Congressman since 1991.
Obama & McCain blow $3.9 million in Ohio on ads
In one week’s time, the campaigns for Barack Obama and John McCain spent $3,945,000 in Ohio for TV advertising, according to the University of Wisconsin Advertising Project. That works out to be $23,482 an hour.
Obama spent $2.22 million while McCain spent $1.73 million between Sept. 28 and Oct. 4 in Ohio, which drew the most advertising dollars. Nationwide, Obama spent $17.5 million while McCain and the Republican National Committee spent just under $11 million combined, according to the Ad Project. The two campaigns spent more than half of the advertising money in the Midwest battleground states of Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
During that week, nearly 100 percent of McCain’s ads were negative while 34 percent of Obama’s ads were negative, according to the study. Compared with the 2004 election, this year’s campaign ads have been more negative.
Do you think negative ads are effective?
AGs and AG-wannabees oppose payday lenders
Former Ohio attorneys general Betty Montgomery and Jim Petro joined AG candidates Mike Crites and Richard Cordray to urge Ohioans to vote Yes on Issue 5.
“You can see what’s been happening on Wall Street. You can see what’s happened in the mortgage lending industry in Ohio. Haven’t Ohioans had enough of fancy financing at this point that hurts our communities and hurts our families?” Cordray said.
Ohio passed a payday lending reform bill that slashes the allowable annual interest rate on short term loans to 28 percent, down from 391 percent. It also limits the number of short term loans people can take out in one year to four and keeps track on a database that is not a public record.
Ohioans for Financial Freedom, which represents the payday lending industry, is in the final stages of getting Issue 5 certified for the ballot and have launched an aggressive advertising campaign seeking its defeat. If voters say No to Issue 5, the rate cap and other reforms would be eliminated.
Petro, Montgomery, Crites and Cordray all criticized Ohioans for Financial Freedom’s campaign tactics, saying they’re misleading and false. Ohioans for Financial Freedom’s ads have focused on claims that 6,000 jobs and personal financial choices would be lost if Issue 5 passes.
Petro, whose former long time communications director is the spokeswoman for the payday lenders, said Ohioans for Financial Freedom is pitching deception.
“This is about reasonable regulation, adopted by the General Assembly, to protect people who are in financial distress from excess greed. It’s simple,” Petro said.
Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher, a Democrat who also served as AG, was unable to attend the press conference but is also urging a Yes vote. Former attorney general Marc Dann, a Democrat now under criminal investigation, was not invited, even though he advocated for the payday lending reform law.
Petro, Montgomery and Crites are Republicans. Cordray, who is state treasurer, is a Democrat.
Who won Nashville presidential debate?
Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama talked with undecided voters for 90 minutes at a town hall meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 7, that was the second of their three presidential debates.
The town hall was at Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn.
Both candidates are headed to Ohio to campaign this week. Obama and Sarah Palin, McCain’s vice presidential running mate, will be in Strongsville, a Cleveland suburb, on Wednesday, Oct. 8. Palin will be in Wilmington on Thursday, Oct. 9.
Obama will kick off a two-day campaign swing with a rally at Fifth Third Field in Dayton on Thursday, Oct. 9. He also will visit Cincinnati, Portsmouth, Chillicothe and Columbus.
Here’s your chance to evaluate the candidates’ town hall performances.
[an error occurred while processing this directive]Obama campaign swing to include Chillicothe, Columbus
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama will conclude his two-day Ohio campaign swing on Friday, Oct. 10, with rallies in Chillicothe and Columbus.
He’ll make those two stops after rallies on Thursday, Oct. 9, in Dayton, Cincinnati and Portsmouth.
The Chillicothe event will be at the Ross County Courthouse, 2 North Paint St. Doors open at 8 a.m. for the 10 a.m. event.
The event is open to the public without tickets but an RSVP is encouraged.
To RSVP, click here to get to Obama’s Web site.
Details on the Columbus event will be released later.
Republican presidential candidate John McCain and Sarah Palin, his vice presidential running mate, will be in Strongsville, a Cleveland suburb, for a rally today, Oct. 8. Palin will be at an event in Wilmington on Thursday, Oct. 9.
8.18 million voters in Ohio
Ohio’s voter registration rolls now stand at 8,184,138, up 665,949 since Jan. 1, according to Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner. That’s a new record number of total registered voters, according to Brunner’s office.
The deadline to register to vote in the Nov. 4 election was Monday, Oct. 6.
The 665,949 new registrations are either first-timers or people who updated their names and addresses.
According to state records, the following counties showed the largest net gain of voters in 2008: Cuyahoga added 122,618; Franklin added 67,621; Hamilton added 46,979; Butler added 29,671; Summit added 28,702; Montgomery added 27,870; Stark added, 25,169; Lucas added 24,760; Lorain added 16,705; and Clermont added 13,585.
7th District ads hitting the air
State Sen. Steve Austria, R-Beavercreek, hit the airwaves first, with two ads that you can view on his campaign website. Those ads - touting Austria’s accomplishments in the state Senate and his energy priorities - aired from Sept. 25 up until Oct. 5.
Now, Democrat Sharen Neuhardt of Yellow Springs has launched an ad attacking Austria as a “career politician,” also airing on Dayton and Columbus markets.
We’ve put in a call to Austria’s campaign to give them the opportunity to respond to the ad, and will update accordingly.
What do you think of the ads?
Sarah Palin Wilmington event open to the public
Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin will be in Wilmington on Thursday, Oct. 9 for a ‘Road to Victory Rally.’
The event will take place at The Roberts Centre, 123 Gano Road in Wilmington. Doors open at 4 p.m. The event begins at 7 p.m.
Click here for more information.
Eye on Ohio: “Spending Spree” ad for Obama
The ad: “Spending Spree,” 30 seconds
Producer: Obama campaign
Where to see it: It’s airing nationally.
Script: Barack Obama: “I’m Barack Obama and I approve this message.”
John McCain voice-over: “I can’t wait to introduce her … to the big spenders in Washington, D.C.”
Announcer: “Big spenders … like John McCain. McCain’s tax plan means another three trillion in debt. His plan to privatize Social Security — another trillion. Tax credits sent to insurance companies, yet another trillion. So as we borrow from China to fund his spending spree, ask yourself. Can we afford John McCain?”
Video: The ad begins with Obama at a picnic, then shows shots of McCain and Gov. Sarah Palin, then cuts to a shot of McCain and his wife, Cindy, then back to McCain. Then there are shots of McCain smiling with the words “John McCain’s Plan: Over $3 Trillion in Debt,” then the words “John McCain’s Plan: Social Security Privatization $1.4 trillion.” Next, the words “Tax Credits Sent to Insurance Companies $1.3 trillion.” It then cuts to shots of China, closing on a shot of McCain and George W. Bush. The words on the screen: “Can we afford John McCain?”
Analysis: Here’s a counter punch to the long-tried GOP attack that Democrats are big spenders. In this one, Obama throws it back in McCain’s face, suggesting that he is the true big spender.
The Tax Policy Center, whose data the campaign uses, actually says Obama has it wrong: According to its most recent analysis of the candidates’ tax plans, McCain’s plan would increase the debt by $5 trillion on top of the $2.3 trillion increase that the Congressional Budget Office forecasts for the next decade.
That’s far higher than the $3 trillion cited in the ad.
The center says that Obama’s plan would boost the debt by $3.5 trillion by 2018.
These estimates assume, however, that there aren’t substantial cuts in spending. Both McCain and Obama have vowed to do just that.
In the most recent presidential debate, McCain floated the idea of freezing spending except on defense, veterans and a few other vital programs that he didn’t elaborate on. Obama opposed the idea, saying some programs are worthy investments.
The second number — estimating McCain’s plan to privatize Social Security would cost $1.4 trillion — comes from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. It estimates the cost of privatizing Social Security under President Bush’s plan at $1.4 trillion over the first 10 years.
McCain voted in favor of creating Social Security accounts in the past, but has not spoken about privatization much during the general election. According to factcheck.org, however, he said on March 3 that he is “totally in favor of personal savings account, and I think they are an important opportunity for young workers.”
Finally, on the $1.3 trillion in tax credits sent to insurance companies: McCain wants to change how people get their health insurance by shifting from job-based coverage to an open market where people would chose from competing policies. McCain would offer families a $5,000 tax credit to help buy insurance policies. Everyone would get the credit, regardless of whether they kept a policy through an employer or shopped for a new one.
Jessica Wehrman is a reporter for the Dayton Daily News. E-mail: jwehrman@coxnews.com.
Eye on Ohio: “Foundation” ad for McCain
The ad: “Foundation,” 30 seconds
Producer: McCain campaign
Where to see it: It’s scheduled to be televised nationally.
Script: John McCain: “You, the American workers, are the best in the world. But your economic security has been put at risk by the greed of Wall Street. That’s unacceptable. My opponent’s only solutions are talk and taxes. I’ll reform Wall Street and fix Washington. I’ve taken on tougher guys than this before.
Female Anchor: “Change is coming. John McCain.”
John McCain: “I’m John McCain and I approve this message.”
Video: It opens with McCain speaking to the camera, slowly zooming in on his face and then interspersed with photos of Wall Street, the stock market trading floor and Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. Joe Biden. It closes with a photo of McCain talking on a rather large cell phone and then a photo of McCain in front of an American flag with the words “The Original Maverick.”
Analysis: The ad focuses on the slumping economy and workers’ fears about job and investment security. Stylistically, it’s a bit different — none of the typical scary music or grainy black-and-white unflattering photos of the opponent. Instead, McCain speaks directly to the camera and viewers. His only attack on Obama is that his “only solutions are talk and taxes” but the ad reveals no details of how McCain would help the economy.
“I’ll reform Wall Street and fix Washington. I’ve taken on tougher guys than this before,” McCain says with a bit of a grin. McCain, who has been in Washington for 26 years, uses two taglines in the ad: “Change is coming” and “The Original Maverick.”
Behind the scenes, the McCain camp points to the Arizona senator’s push for shareholder approval of corporate chief executives’ pay and severance packages and his pledge to reform laws and regulations governing the oil futures market to curb speculators driving up gas prices, and his efforts to require corporations to list employee stock options as an expense on their financial statements. The Obama campaign this week also released a two-minute video focused on economic security that promises a laundry-list of vague solutions, including tax reform, real regulations for Wall Street and fast-tracking energy independence.
Laura Bischoff is a reporter for the Dayton Daily News. E-mail: lbischoff@DaytonDailyNews.com.
Obama to hold rally at Fifth Third Field
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama will kick off a two-day “American Jobs Tour” on Thursday, Oct. 9, with rallies in Dayton, Cincinnati and Portsmouth.
The tour is scheduled to start in Dayton with an 11:20 a.m. rally at Fifth Third Field, 220 N. Patterson Blvd. Doors open at 9 a.m.
The event and rallies in Cincinnati and Portsmouth are open to the public and tickets are not required but an RSVP is encouraged by the campaign. Visit www.oh.barackobama.com to RSVP. Space is on a first-come, first-served basis, the campaign said.
The Cincinnati rally is at 3 p.m. at the Ault Park Pavilion, 5090 Observatory Circle. Doors open at 1 p.m.
The Portsmouth event is at Alumni Green, Shawnee State University, 940 Second St., at 7:30 p.m. Doors open at 5:30 p.m.
Gov. Ted Strickland, a key Obama supporter, has been urging the Obama campaign to visit southern Ohio, home of conservative to moderate Democrats, and the Portsmouth stop will put the Democratic candidate in that region.
Strickland comes from Duck Run, not far from Portsmouth.
The Thursday rallies will put Obama in the state on the same day as Sarah Palin, the Republican vice presidential candidate, who’s scheduled to be in Wilmington. Palin and McCain are to appear together on Wednesday, Oct. 8, in Strongsville, a Cleveland suburb.
As the candidates head into the final month of the campaign, here’s a chance to make your choice.
[an error occurred while processing this directive]Crites to file complaint against Cordray
Republican attorney general candidate Mike Crites said Monday, Oct. 6, that he will file a complaint with the Ohio Elections Commission by the end of the week against state Treasurer Richard Cordray’s campaign.
Crites wants an expedited hearing and the right to take depositions of Cordray and others about the source of a $10,000 campaign contribution to Cordray’s campaign.
Lindsey Kuty, 25, made the contribution shortly after Cordray took office in January 2007. Her step father, Montford Will of Wachovia Securities, told the Dayton Daily News that the money came from Kuty’s mother. It is illegal to give contributions in someone else’s name.
Will’s firm went from doing about 1 percent of the treasurer’s bond trading work between 2000 and 2006 to 37.5 percent under Cordray. The two previous treasurers were Republicans; Cordray is a Democrat and now running for attorney general.
When the Dayton Daily News raised questions about Kuty’s contribution, Cordray said he did not know her or anything about the donation but that he would refund it to avoid appearance issues. He also said that there is no connection between campaign contributions and state contracts.
“My opponent can spin his wheels filing Elections Commission complaints, but our campaign committee has addressed and resolved the matter,” Cordray said.
Cordray added: “If we are going to ask the Elections Commission to investigate campaign contributions, they should look into the fact that Michael Crites went on the public record in August promising the paint industry he would drop a lawsuit against them just before accepting the same month a $5,000 contribution from RPM International, a paint company, which appears to be a quid pro quo in violation of Ohio law.”
Eye On Ohio: McCain ‘Promise’ ad
The ad: “Promise,” 30 seconds. Producer: McCain campaign. Where to see it: It’s airing nationally. View it at DaytonDailyNews.com/eyeonohio.
Script: (Announcer): “In the midst of war, Sen. Obama voted to cut off funding for our troops. What did Biden say?”
(Joe Biden) “They said they voted against the money to make a political point.” (Announcer): “He added ….” (Biden): “This is cutting off support that will save the lives of thousands of American troops.” (Announcer): “Barack Obama. Playing politics. Risking lives. Not ready to lead.” (McCain): “I’m John McCain, and I approve this message.”
Video: The ad begins with dark images of troops fighting in Iraq and the words “Voted to cut funding for our troops.” Television sets show then-presidential candidate Biden speaking at the Iowa State Fair on Aug. 15, 2007, and on “Meet the Press” on Sept. 9, 2007, before he was selected as Obama’s Democratic running mate. The ad ends with a color image of a smiling McCain, the Republican presidential candidate.
Analysis: FactCheck.org called the McCain claim that Obama voted against the troops “highly misleading.” Obama has voted in favor of war-funding bills at least 10 times since becoming a U.S. senator.
Using the same standard employed here, McCain has supported cutting off funding to U.S. troops.
McCain’s presidential campaign cites one vote that Obama cast against a funding bill to justify its claim, but that vote came after President George W. Bush vetoed a version of the bill that included a date for withdrawal from Iraq. In fact, most Republicans voted against the 2007 war-funding bill that Obama and other Democrats supported. McCain was absent for that vote, but he urged Bush to veto the bill.
Jon Craig is a reporter for the Cincinnati Enquirer. E-mail: jcraig@enquirer.com.
Eye On Ohio: Obama ‘Zero’ ad
By Laura Bischoff
Dayton Daily News
The ad: “Zero,” 30-seconds. Producer: Obama for America.
Where you can see it: It’s running nationally on cable TV. View it at DaytonDailyNews.com/eyeonohio.
Script: Announcer: “Number of minutes in debate: 90. Number of times John McCain mentioned the middle-class: Zero. McCain doesn’t get it. Barack Obama does.”
Obama: “The fundamentals of the economy have to be measured by whether or not the middle class is getting a fair shake. … And when you look at your tax policies … you are neglecting people who are really struggling right now. I think that is a continuation of the last eight years, and we can’t afford another four.”
Obama voice-over: “I’m Barack Obama, and I approve this message.”
Video: The ad opens with letters being typed over a black screen about McCain’s failure to mention the middle class in the first presidential debate. Then it shows clips from the debate of Obama talking about the economy.
Analysis: The spot uses the debate footage to paint McCain as out of touch with the middle class because he failed to mention it by name. Factual, yes — McCain didn’t use the words “middle class” — but fair is another question. McCain said on ABC News’ “This Week” that he was referring to everyday Americans during the debate when he spoke about people on Main Street struggling and paying the price for greed on Wall Street.
Obama criticized McCain’s tax policy during the debate. Both candidates favor tax cuts, but Obama’s tax-reform package is generally targeted to help the middle class, while McCain favors broader tax changes that would benefit even the wealthy.
McCain favors lowering the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 25 percent, doubling personal exemptions for dependents to $7,000 and extending the Bush tax cuts for all.
Obama favors extending the Bush tax cuts for everyone but the very wealthy, expanding the earned income tax credit for low-income Americans, eliminating income taxes for seniors making less than $50,000 and closing business tax loopholes.
Laura Bischoff is a reporter for the Dayton Daily News. E-mail: lbischoff@dayton dailynews.com.
Today is deadline to register to vote
Today, Oct. 6., is the last day to register to vote in the Nov. 4 election.
It’s also the final day for people to register to vote and cast an early ballot on the same day. Early voting will continue until the election.
The Montgomery County Board of Elections, 451 W. Third St., in Dayton, is open from 7 a.m.-9 p.m. today to register to vote.
You can get more information and download forms at the Ohio Secretary of State’s Web site. Click here for the site.
Here is more detailed information on registration at boards of elections in the Dayton area.
Greene County
Board of Elections:
9 a.m. to 4 p.m. (Monday through Friday)
Extended hours:
9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 11, 18 and 25
9 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Oct. 21, 23, 27 and 29
9 a.m. to noon. Nov. 1
Montgomery County Board of Elections
7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday
8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays in October and Nov. 1
noon to 5 p.m. today, Oct. 5
7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday, Oct. 6
noon to 5 p.m. Oct. 26
noon to 6 p.m. Nov. 2
Miami County
Board of Elections
8 a.m. to 4 p.m. (Monday through Friday)
Extended hours may be available closer to Election Day.
Preble County
Board of Elections
8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (Monday through Friday)
8:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday, Oct. 6
8 a.m. to noon Nov. 1
Warren County
Board of Elections
8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (Monday through Friday)
Extended hours will be available closer to Election Day, but have not been finalized.
Here is more informaton on boards of elections.
Clark County: 3130 E. Main St., Springfield, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., (937) 521-2120
Darke County: 300 Garst Ave., Greenville, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., (937) 548-1835
Greene County: 651 Dayton-Xenia Rd., Xenia, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., (937) 562-7478 or 7473
Miami County: 215 W. Main St., Troy, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., (937) 440-3900
Montgomery County: 451 W. Third St., Dayton, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., (937) 225-5656
Preble County: 101 E. Main St., Eaton, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., (937) 456-8117 or 8118
Shelby County: 230 E. Court St., Sidney, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., (937) 498-7207
Warren County: 406 Justice Dr., Room 323, Lebanon, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., (513) 695-1358
McCain, Obama head back to Ohio as race heats up
Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama both plan Ohio campaign swings this week as the battle for Ohio’s 20 electoral votes heats up.
McCain and his vice presidential running mate Sarah Palin are scheduled to be in Strongsville, a Cleveland suburb, for a 2:15 p.m. rally on Wednesday, Oct. 8. For details and to RSVP, click here.
Obama plans a two-day campaign swing later in the week with details expected as early as Monday, Oct. 6.
In addition, Palin is scheduled for a solo visit to Wilmington at 4 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 9. For more on that campaign stop, click here.
Strickland on national radio: McCain “doesn’t get it”
Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland used the Democratic party’s national weekly radio address on Saturday, Oct. 4. to blast Republican presidential candidate John McCain and praise Democratic candidate Barack Obama.
“John McCain just doesn’t get it,” Strickland said. He said Obama’s plans would provide tax relief to the middle class and get the economy moving again.
In his own weekly radio address, McCain said his plan to cut taxes and lower spending are what the country needs. He didn’t mention Obama.
“I will reach out my hand to anyone to help me get this country moving again,” McCain said.
To hear Strickland’s address, click here.
To hear McCain’s address, click here.
Strickland to give Dems’ weekly radio address
Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland will give the Democrats’ weekly national radio address at 11:05 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 4, the Obama-Biden campaign announced.
The governor will address the nation’s economic crisis and the Obama-Biden ticket’s plan for the economy, the campaign announced.
Hobson says McCain’s exit from Michigan is good for Ohio
U.S. Rep. David Hobson, R-Springfield, said Sen. John McCain’s decision to effectively concede Michigan will mean more resources and more focus on the state of Ohio in the fall.
He said he’s confident the move will mean the Ohio campaign will be stepped up, and will also give the campaign more flexibility in key battleground states.
“Besides,” he joked Friday, Oct. 3, quoting the Buckeyes’ battle hymn, “we don’t give a damn about the whole state (of Michigan).”
Strickland (surprise!) gives Obama edge on economy
Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, a Democrat who has endorsed Sen. Barack Obama for president, said the current economic crisis will likely drive more voters to support Obama in November.
In an interview Thursday, he called McCain’s behavior during the crisis “erratic,” and pointed to McCain’s suspension of his campaign and his cancellation of an appearance on David Letterman’s show baffling. Letterman showed footage showing McCain preparing for another interview at the time he was scheduled to appear on his show.
He said the culmination made McCain appear “lacking in focus” and “out of touch with even members own party.”
“He didn’t inspire confidence with that behavior,” he said, saying Obama looked steadier during the crisis.
Strickland also said he “absolutely” would’ve voted for the original bailout package that failed in the House on Monday. “I was convinced that this was not a case of either party crying wolf,” he said.
GOP likes “The Boss”, too
Bruce Springsteen’s coming to Columbus to urge Ohioans to vote early for Democrat Barack Obama for president.
That doesn’t mean Republicans won’t try to rock along with “The Boss” when he appears at a rally on Sunday, Oct. 5, on the Main Oval at the Ohio State University in Columbus.
Republican John McCain’s campaign isn’t discouraging McCain supporters from attending.
“Like the Boss, John McCain’s fans are made up of voters of all political parties. We wouldn’t want our supporters throughout Ohio to miss the opportunity to hear a living legend and vote early for an American hero,” Paul Lindsay, McCain-Palin spokesman, said in a prepared statement.
The Obama-Biden campaign didn’t seem to mind if Republicans show up but the Democrats expect Springsteen to help their side.
“Springsteen’s music has always been about the hardworking Americans who’ve made this country great - and with Barack Obama, we’ll have a president who will stand up for the change these hardworking Americans need.
“So naturally we welcome the opportunity for people of all backgrounds to come and hear why Springsteen believes that Obama is the only candidate who can turn around our economy and restore our standing in the world,” the Obama-Biden campaign said in a prepared statement.
Doors open at 3 p.m. for the 4:30 p.m. rally. Springsteen is to perform an acoustical set.
Who won the VP debate?
Democrat Joe Biden and Republican Sarah Palin debated for 90 minutes on Thursday, Oct. 2, in the only vice presidential debate of the presidential campaign.
The stakes were high for both candidates.
Biden needed to show that he could demonstrate his grasp of the economy, foreign policy and other key issues without coming off as verbose and condescending.
After stumbling in network television interviews, Palin needed to show that she has what it takes to be a heartbeat away from the most powerful elected position in the world.
Here’s your chance to size up their performances.
[an error occurred while processing this directive]McCain pulling out of Michigan?
Politico has the story.
What do you think?
Who will win? Palin or Biden?
In her first and only debate of this long election season, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (left) is sure to draw more TV viewers to Thursday’s vice presidential debate then we’ve seen in recent years.
With Palin and U.S. Sen. Joe Biden (right), D-Del., on stage, this is sure to be a very lively VP debate - not that watching Dick Cheney and Joe Lieberman going at it wasn’t exciting. Zzzzz. Thursday night all eyes will be on Palin.
This is her first national debate and her first debate since she ran for governor in 2006. Biden had more than 12 debates in 2007 and 2008 during his early run for the Democratic nomination.
Tell us what you think will happen Thursday night.
[an error occurred while processing this directive]Bruce Springsteen coming to Columbus for Obama
Bruce Springsteen is coming to Columbus on Sunday, Oct. 5, for a rally for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama at Ohio State University’s Main Oval.
The rally’s aimed at encouraging Obama supporters to register and take advantage of Ohio’s early voting period. Springsteen will perform an acoustic set.
Doors open at 3 p.m. for the 4:30 p.m. program.
“Sen. Obama is a great fan of Bruce Springsteen and is glad to have his support,” Aaron Pickrell, Ohio director for the Obama-Biden campaign, said in a press release.
For access to the best viewing area, preferred tickets will be distributed starting on Thursday, Oct. 2, from 10 a.m.-8 p.m. at most locations.
TICKET PICK-UP LOCATIONS:
Campaign for Change table at Genoa Park (across the street from the Downtown Columbus Early Vote location at Franklin County Veterans Memorial) W Broad and Washington Blvd Columbus, OH
Chillicothe Campaign for Change Office 246 East Main Street Chillicothe, OH
Columbus Campaign for Change Office (Downtown) 193 E Rich Street Columbus OH
Campaign for Change Office (Worthington) 6066 Huntley Road Columbus, OH
Delaware Campaign for Change Office
57 N. Sandusky Street
Delaware, OH
Lancaster Campaign for Change Office
118 N. Columbus Street
Lancaster, OH
Madison County Democratic Party HQ
22 S Main Street
London, OH
Mansfield Campaign for Change Office
32 N. Walnut Street
Mansfield, OH
Marion County Campaign for Change Office
194 W. Center Street
Marion, OH
Mt Vernon Campaign for Change Office 1 Public Square Mt. Vernon, OH
Newark Campaign for Change Office
31 W. Church Street
Newark, OH
OSU Campaign for Change Office
1902 N High Street
Columbus, OH
Pickaway County Democratic Party HQ
120 W Main Street
Circleville, OH
Pickerington Campaign for Change Office
155 E Columbus Street
Suite 190
Pickerington, OH
Springfield Campaign for Change Office 1613 East Main Street Springfield, OH
Union County Democratic Party HQ
830 Delaware Avenue
Marysville, OH
Zanesville Campaign for Change Office
126 Muskingum Avenue
Zanesville, OH
Meghan McCain to campaign in Dayton
Meghan McCain, daughter of Republican presidential candidate John McCain and McCain’s wife Cindy, will be in Dayton on Saturday, Oct. 4, to campaign for her dad, watch some football and have some fun.
She will be the special guest at the Montgomery County Republican Party’s “Road to Victory” party at the Taj Ma Garaj, 300 S. Perry St. Tickets are $25 for the 7:30 p.m. party.
There’s also a private reception from 6:30-7:30 p.m. with McCain. Cost is $200.
Tickets can be purchased at county GOP headquarters, 369 W. First St., Suite 201, or by calling 937-461-1776.
There’ll be plenty to do: Ohio State-Wisconsin football game on TV; a live band; pool and video games and the “Garaj’s” collection of cars.
Mitakides, Neuhardt both would’ve backed original House “bailout” bill
Democrats Sharen Neuhardt, who is running to replace U.S. Rep. David Hobson, R-Springfield in the 7th congressional district, and Jane Mitakides, who hopes to unseat U.S. Rep. Mike Turner in the 3rd congressional district, both say they would’ve voted for the bailout package that failed in the House on Monday.
Hobson voted for the package, while Turner voted against it.
“Our nation is in an economic crisis,” Neuhardt, of Yellow Springs, said. “Without a rescue plan, experts say a freeze in our credit markets means families won’t be able to take out basic loans, small businesses will suffer and a domino effect will cause major job losses and significantly lengthen the ongoing economic crisis, with negative consequences for Main Street, not just Wall Street. Congress needs to put partisan politics aside and do what is in the best interests for America.”
We’ve put the question in to state Sen. Steve Austria, R-Beavercreek, on how he would’ve voted, and will update when we get the answer. Austria and Neuhardt will face each other on Nov. 4.
Mitakides, meanwhile, concedes that bill wasn’t perfect, and she’s happy with the changes that have been made in the package so far, but had she been a House member Monday, she would have voted yes. Here’s a story laying out Turner’s concerns about the bill.
“Inaction might be worse,” she said, saying that everyone from the administration to Warren Buffett believes something needs to be done.
She said Monday’s vote represented a “collapse of the middle,” and said voters, meanwhile, don’t fully realize that the bill isn’t about bailing out Wall Street, but instead about stabilizing the financial markets.
She said she felt the new bill, which the Senate is scheduled to vote on tonight, is a better product.
“The more control, the more oversight, the more transparency put in the bills, the more protection put in for the American taxpayers, the better they’re going to like it,” she said.
Pay day lenders turn in more signatures
Ohioans for Financial Freedom lugged dozens of boxes of signed petitions into Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner’s office on Wednesday, Oct. 1 in an effort to get Issue 5 on the Nov. 4 ballot.
Ohioans for Financial Freedom, which represents the payday lending industry, wants voters to get rid of sweeping reforms put in place by a new state law. The law places a 28 percent cap on the annual interest rates charged on short term loans, down from 391 percent charged now. It also limits people to four payday loans a year.
A “Yes” vote on Issue 5 would keep the cap and other reforms in place. A “No” vote would allow payday lenders to continue charging 391 percent.
Here’s a run down on the petition numbers: 422,000 signatures turned in at the end of August 241,366 valid signatures required 185,729 signatures verified 55,637 short of the requirement 218,855 more signatures turned in Oct. 1.
Do you think payday lenders should be allowed to charge 391 percent annual interest rates on short term loans?
Obama moves ahead in Ohio, Florida and Pennsylvania
Democrat Barack Obama has moved ahead of Republican John McCain in Ohio and two other key battleground states, Florida and Pennsylvania.
A new Quinnipiac University poll of likely voters released on Wednesday, Oct. 1, found that the sagging popularity of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, McCain’s vice presidential running mate, and more confidence in Obama’s ability to handle the sagging economy have helped the Democrat in the race for the White House.
The poll tested voter sentiment both before and after the presidential debate on Friday, Sept. 26,
In Ohio, Obama led 49-42 percent pre-debate and 50-42 percent post-debate. In a Sept. 11 Quinnipiac poll, Obama led 49-44 percent.
In Florida, Obama led 49-43 percent pre-debate and 51-43 percent after the debate. In a Sept. 11 Quinnipiac poll, McCain led, 50-43 percent.
In Pennsylvania, Obama led 49-43 percent pre-debate and 54-39 percent post-debate. In a Sept. 11 Quinnipiac poll, Obama led 48-45 percent.
Three other Ohio polls released this week show a virtual tie in the state. In a SurveyUSA poll of likely voters, McCain led 49-48 percent and in a Rasmussen Reports poll of likely voters, McCain was ahead 47-46 percent.
In an InsiderAdvantage/Poll Position poll of registered voters, Obama led 47-45 percent.
For full Quinnipiac poll results, click here.
The pre-debate Quinnipiac surveys were conducted from Monday, Sept. 22-Friday, Sept. 26.
The post-debate surveys were conducted Saturday, Sept. 27-Monday, Sept. 29.
No candidate has won the White House since 1960 without carrying two of these three states, pointing up the emphasis both candidates are placing on them this time.
In Ohio, the 64 percent of voters who watched the debate said Obama did better, 49-33 percent. Voters in Florida and Pennsylvania also favored Obama’s debate performance.
Also in Ohio, Palin’s favorability rating was split 35-35 percent between favorable and unfavorable in the post-debate poll while she had a 40-33 percent favorable rating in the pre-debate poll. In the Sept. 11 poll she had a 41-22 percent favorable rating.
Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, said in a press release that “it’s difficult to find a modern competitive presidential race that has swung so dramatically, so quickly and so sharply this late in the campaign.”
“Sen. Obama clearly won the debate, voters say. Their opinion of Sarah Palin has gone south and the Wall Street meltdown has been a dagger to McCain’s political heart,” said Brown.
“Roughly a third of voters, and almost as large a share of the key independent voters, say McCain did more harm than good in trying to resolve the financial crisis, and the share of the voters who see the economy as the top issue has risen from roughly half to six in ten.”
The margin of error in Ohio for the pre-debate poll was plus or minus 2.8 percent. In the post-debate poll it was plus or minus 3.4 percent.
