Florida's I-4 corridor is key election battleground

[flamingdem]

Source: Miami Herald



Margel Zukunft, 81 years old, pulled weeds from around a for-sale sign on a recent evening outside her three-bedroom home in the Sun City retirement community near Tampa.

Alone for the past decade, she longs to move to a condominium offering dinner companions and lawn care. But in this panic-stricken economy, Zukunft has no offers -- and shaky confidence in both Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain.

''I can almost remember in 1929 when people went to the bank and took their money out, and I can't help but wonder if I should do that,'' she said. ``I wonder if either candidate is capable of getting this mess straightened out.''

Zukunft's anxiety about the economy is a strong current that runs through the disparate communities clustered along Interstate 4, the Central Florida highway considered a gateway to one-tenth of the electoral votes needed to win the White House.

Nearly one out of five of the state's unaffiliated voters live in this swath between Tampa and Daytona Beach, and an even higher percentage are considered ''persuadable'' Democrats and Republicans. No wonder the area is seeing a flurry of candidate visits, with Republican vice presidential contender Sarah Palin slated to campaign Monday in Clearwater and Fort Myers.

''Someone suggested to me that the whole thing could come down to a couple square blocks in downtown Tampa, and that's not out of the question,'' said Richard Scher, a University of Florida professor, who calculated that the 12 counties hugging I-4 host 38 percent of the state's independent voters.

Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/457/story/713624.html

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Could this be true:

'Someone suggested to me that the whole thing could come down to a couple square blocks in downtown Tampa'

[flamingdem]

1. Want to include a shout out to everyone working for Obama in the I-4 area

Including my family because they are working hard for Obama in the Orlando area.

Gobama!

[Lorien]

3. I'm in Orlando. I'm so f'ing sick of it ALWAYS coming down to what

happens in the I-4 corridor! This area is mostly full of blue state transplants (like myself), foreign immigrants-mostly Cuban and British- and native born rednecks. It's about as politically divisive an area as there is in America. I knocked myself out volunteering in 2000 and 2004 (took a month off of work to do so each time). Now I believe that there are only really three things that that a volunteer can do to have a significant impact: 1). send out and pick up absentee ballots. 2). drive voters to the polls (mostly elderly and handicapped people), an3). on election day stand outside the polling place to hand out flyers listing the democratic candidates AND the Democratic positions on the issues. This is VERY important! I have generally done this on my own; printing up the flyers myself from information available at Dem headquarters and standing 100 feet outside a busy polling place to hand them out. I have literally been thanked by hundreds of voters because most are not up on the issues or the candidates, but they all wanted to vote straight Dem, and the flyers helped them to do that with confidence.

[McCCain4retirment]

2. my parents are working there asses up in tampa bay

and there 2 time bush voters.

so this is BIG

[YDogg]

4. Joe Biden is scheduled to be in Lakeland on Tuesday

http://www.theledger.com/article/20081004/NEWS/810040348/1410?Title=Candidate_Joe_Biden__To_Visit_Lakeland

"Biden is the first vice presidential candidate to visit Polk County this year. Gates open for the free event at 3 p.m. and it begins at 5 p.m. in the amphitheater at Lake Mirror Park at 121 S. Lake Ave."

[voteearlyvoteoften]

5. A little story from Florida

Yesterday was at a park taking homecoming photos of my daughter Hillary. Gave the GoBama thumbs up to older black gentleman sitting nearby wearing campaign button. Turns out that I had met him before when canvassing in one of the poorest neighborhoods in our area a month ago. He was sitting outside with his buds and nicely blew us off. A little later he followed us down the street and took a handful of voter registrations. And now he is a big time campaigner in his church and neighborhood. So if you ever feel you don't make a difference....YES WE CAN

[writes3000]

14. I love, love, LOVE that story.

The influence of positive example.

That guy had to question why he was sitting on his ass when YOU were working so hard.

Love it.

[mucifer]

6. Keep up the great work guys. But, remember that votes from the bluest parts

of the state count as much as the red and purple parts. Young and minority voters often need the encouragement to go to the polls and stick around for hours and hours and hours while the dirty tricks are played.

I volunteered in Indiana yesterday. They are using us Chicago people to knock on doors in the bluest parts of the states going to the same houses sometimes weekly to remind people of the importance of the election and how the presidency could be determined by their votes. We also search for the dems who haven't registered yet. It was really nice to canvass where on several cases people answered their doors wearing Obama pins. We were told by the local organizers that here many people are dems but often do not vote in the general election.

[Barack_America]

7. Thanks. I'm going to send this to my mother....

She lives in Pinellas and I've been getting on her ass to volunteer (she's shy). nt

[voteearlyvoteoften]

9. Phone bank from home

If your Mom has a computer she may be able to call from home.They call it the virtual phone bank. I can squeeze in an hour here and there that might not happen otherwise. Also the local campaign offices are very friendly, and need help with office type chores if you are shy about going door to door or calling. Now is the time. Imagine how great she will feel when Obama wins the state!

[bottomofthehill]

8. This is not an easy place for Democrats

I was in Tampa in the area of Buffalo Blvd now MLK Blvd for Gore and Kerry, and I will go back again this year. I was volunteering for Kerry, and saw hundreds of volunteers from Acorn, DNC, DCCC, Florida State party, it was amazing. We got more Democrats to the polls than I could ever have believed.

Then Hannity and Pig Boy got on the air and started crying that Bush was going down and people started going to the polls for that moron.

I will be back again, but this is not an easy area for us to win

[Ron Paul- voting BO]

11. I remember that!!!!

I live in Georiga and was listening to that clown and remember him crying GOTV... The one thing I thing we have this year is better ground orginaztion in some of these purple areas. One thing I see OBAMA doing is contesting these areas. Yes we still need to GOTV in the urban areas but we cannot concseed the purple areas like the last election cycle.

[fishnfla]

10. I drive I-4 everyday, daytona to winterhaven

On Friday on the east end, I guess near deltona, there is a new billboard " McSame" with a red circle slash thru it. Beautiful in its simplicity. Also, the biggest radio station, ratings and size is 104.1, I swear philips is a DUer he quotes stuff I read here all the time. even their conservative guy said he would not vote for bush again ( asked theoretical question). bumper stickers 3-1 gobama

Obama's got this election

[flamingdem]

12. Biden In Tampa Wednesday

http://www.tboblogs.com/index.php/news/story/biden-in-tampa-wednesday/

During a two-day visit to Florida, Democratic vice presidential nominee Joe Biden will hold a “community gathering” Wednesday morning at the Sun Dome at the University of South Florida for what campaign officials call a “fairly detailed” talk on the economy, and a similar event Tuesday afternoon in Lakeland.

Biden’s visit immediately follows Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin’s two-day tour of Florida with appearances Monday in Clearwater and Estero and Tuesday in Jacksonville and Pensacola.

Obama campaign spokeswoman Adrianne Marsh described Biden’s Tampa event as intended to be smaller and more intimate than a rally, but not a town hall-style meeting—there will be no audience interaction or questions, she said.

Doors will open at about 8:30 a.m. for the event. Tickets will be required. They’re available Sunday from noon to 9 p.m. and Monday and Tuesday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. at Obama offices:

-- Tampa Campaign for Change Downtown Office, 817 E. Washington St., [phone]

-- USF Campaign for Change Office, 14519 N. 18th St., [phone]

-- Clearwater Campaign for Change Office, 133 N. Fort Harrison Ave., entrance on the corner of Drew and Watterson, [phone]

For the Lakeland event at The Amphitheatre at Lake Mirror Park, at 121 South Lake Ave., gates will open at 3 p.m.

The event is free and open to the public with no tickets required, but space is limited and is available on a first-come, first-served basis. An online RSVP is encouraged at http://fl.barackobama.com/lakeland. Public parking is limited.

[BlooInBloo]

13. They should all see this wonderful video....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2VFRt5W4FM

[flamingdem]

15. I hope that video goes viral in FL's Jewish community

to compete with the 'Obama is a Muslim' emails circulating there.