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March 04, 2008
A, O, WAY TO GO OHIO
♪♫ I went back to Ohio …♪♫
(I hope I’m not jumping the gun with my Ohio Obama optimism so early on this most auspicious day for America)
I’m guessing that if Chrissie Hynde went back to Ohio this week, she’d be pretty pleased with what she’d see. First of all, it turns out that Columbus could be a pretty fun town. Who would have thought it? It’s at least fun when a bizarre confluence of political junkies, sports fanatics and art enthusiasts take over the town … but maybe any town would be fun under those circumstances.
Columbus, Ohio hosted Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and even Arnold Schwarzenegger over the weekend. Arnold apparently wasn’t there on behalf of McCain. He was in Columbus to support “The Arnold Classic”, a bodybuilding competition at the Columbus Convention Center. Combined with the thousands of carpet-bagging campaigners and Columbus’ Short North Gallery Hop, Columbus probably hosted just about the most eclectic cross-section of America that the vast, empty expanse between NYC and Vegas has ever seen.
I spent a few days in Ohio doing Obama work in advance of the Tuesday Primary. I figured this was the moment to pull out all the stops. If Obama doesn’t win in either Ohio or Texas, the pundits are predicting, not six, but at least seven more weeks of winter for the Democratic Party (as Clinton next rests her own hopes on the April 22 Pennsylvania Primary). God knows how much damage we’re going to inflict on the Democratic Presidential hope if we have to engage in another seven weeks of infighting and dirty politics within the party. Believe me, the campaign ads were getting uglier and more relentless in Ohio.
In any case, Ohio is deeply engaged. Kind of remarkable for a state whose last favorite son was Warren Harding, whose Presidency was marred by scandal and who was reported to have said “I am not fit for this office and never should have been here.” He also died in Office. In fact, four of the eight Presidents from Ohio died in Office, and they haven’t produced a President in 88 years. Eight Presidents during Ohio’s first 117 years as state. None in its last 88.
On top of all this, let’s not forget that Ohio was a, if not the, critical battleground state in the 2004 Presidential election. By some accounts, tens of thousands of would-be Democratic voters were unable to record their votes, which could have easily swung Ohio, and the Electoral College, to Kerry. I’m pleased to report that Larry Strickling, my former boss at the FCC and a deeply committed Obama staffer, is, among other things, handling voter protection issues on Tuesday, so I figure some of the voter problems will not re-emerge. The campaigns are also encouraging their supporters to vote early so that there are fewer problems during Ohio’s Primary Election Day.
Ohio Democrats should have many reasons to feel first proud, then acutely dejected, about their Presidential history and karma, yet Ohio citizens seem to persevere. The feeling that Ohio can shape America’s future is palpable. The folks in Ohio seem convinced that their opinion, their participation, their vote counts and could change the course of history. I know that the polls were indicating that Hillary would win the popular vote, but that wasn’t apparent on the streets … and the polls are blind to the passion, the hope, the sense of destiny. The Obamania is overwhelming.
The battleground is so intense that the Arnold Classic competitors have nothing on the campaigns – this is a no-holds-barred-drop-down-drag-out-last-gasp-effort for the nomination. My Dad put it in perspective in a blog posting yesterday when he talked about “Obama: The Fear Factor”:
“FDR told us we had ‘nothing to fear but fear itself.’ Barack Obama’s adversaries all seem to agree that ‘we have nothing to HOPE FOR but fear itself.’ As they try to stop the Obama juggernaut, they are all playing the fear card! Hillary Clinton’s scary Texas ad goes so far as to suggest that your children will not be safe in their beds at 3 AM if Obama is the one sleeping next to the red phone. John McCain and President Bush warn that an Obama presidency will leave us at the mercy of terrorists. Right-wing talk show hosts are trying to scare the pants off their listeners by reminding them that Obama’s middle name is Hussein -- a true Manchurian candidate in Muslim garb. Or as FDR might have put it, ‘We have nothing to fear but the fear-mongers themselves.’”
***
And what’s with Rush Limbaugh getting to use the Pretenders’ “My City Was Gone” (aka, “I went back to Ohio”) as his theme song? The money Limbaugh pays the Pretenders/Hynde had better go to a good cause that Limbaugh doesn’t support. Perhaps its time to deploy a search engine to get to the bottom of that one … Once again, Wikipedia raised its hand first with a plausible answer: Wikipedia Entry on "My City Was Gone"
Tags: Jonathan Askin, Frank Askin, Larry Strickling, Columbus, Ohio, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, The Arnold Classic, Gallery Hop
Posted by jonathan.askin at March 4, 2008 07:29 AM
Comments
"...the vast, empty expanse between NYC and Vegas..."
Yeah, but we like it here just fine, thank you.
Sorry for slacking off on breeding the presidential material, too. We'll get busy.
Posted by: Blog440 at March 4, 2008 03:50 PM