News Summary

If you're feeling campaign fatigue, you're not alone. It was an especially long road to Election Day 2008.

Remember Tom Vilsack? The then-Democratic governor of Iowa became the first official candidate for president when he announced on Nov. 30, 2006, in Mount Pleasant, Iowa. (His bid ended in February.) That began the march to Iowa, where Sen. Barack Obama and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee won their party's respective caucuses, followed by Sens. John MCain and Hillary Clinton winning the New Hampshire primaries in January. It took Sen. McCain until March to finish off his challengers, while the Obama-Hillary slugfest didn't end until June.

Now decision day is here. Once again, Ohio is among the crucial states that both presidential candidates have fought hard to win. But there's also a long ballot that includes five statewide issues; a contest for attorney general; elections involving all of Ohio's members of the U.S. House of Representatives and the Ohio House, and lots of races for county officeholders. Finally, there are levies that are important to schools, for instance.

As polls have increasingly shown Sen. Obama with the lead, the McCain campaign hasn't given up, but Republicans nationally have started emphasizing the dangers of having one party controlling both the presidency and Congress. The Republicans' message is not absurd or unfounded.

Presumably, most people will want to pick the president they want, then worry about balance when they get to lower offices, if at all.

The big question, if Sen. Obama is elected, is whether the Democrats might also gain a filibuster-proof 60 seats in the Senate. That would probably be dangerous even for the Democrats. If they let power go to their heads, they could easily get their comeuppance in 2010. However, Ohio doesn't have a Senate seat in play.

Still, the dangers of partisan voting are always present. The big year the Ohio Democrats had in 2006 — as a result of scandal — resulted in some excellent officeholders, including Gov. Ted Strickland and Treasurer Richard Cordray (now running for attorney general). But it also resulted in Marc Dann as attorney general.

The further you go down the ballot, the less the races are about party and political philosophy, and the more they should come down to who is simply the better candidate — who has the better mind, more experience, or most common sense. There are some well-meaning, dedicated people running in what, for them as well, feels like a marathon.

Most of them don't have highly paid strategists or campaign budgets that allow them to be on television (certainly not during your favorite shows or ad infinitum, anyway). They have been competing for voters' interest and attention using old-fashioned door-to-door campaigning and word-of-mouth. They deserve some discerning attention because they can affect the quality of community life.

"Saturday Night Live" has run up some of its best ratings in the last few weeks by featuring the politicians and lampooning them with wicked humor. Over the weekend, Sen. McCain took his turn in the barrel and got in some of his own rejoinders. When Sen. Obama was asked about his opponent's performance, he said he thought Sen. McCain's and his appearances were evidence that campaigns could be civil and that fierce campaigns didn't have to turn ugly.

When you're waiting in a long line, remember how remarkable the freedom to vote is. As civic duties go, this is something to enjoy.