Barack could lose in Ohio

[MeDeMax]

(also posted in Ohio)

Barack's current 4 point lead in Ohio could easily evaporate come election day, for a number of reasons, race & last minute fear mongering being the most important ones.

I feel he should ask Bill, Hillary, Strickland, Brown, Kucinich, Kerry & Glenn to stump heavily for him in southern & rural Ohio.

Bill & Strickland especially have to speak to the people in the pews, they have to persuade the "values" voters to vote for Barack over Sarah Palin.

Hillary & Brown especially have to reach out to white blue-collar men and persuade them to choose Barack over Todd Palin.

Kerry, Glenn & Kucinich especially have to reach out to seniors & veterans and persuade them to choose Barack over McCain.

In my humble opinion.


.

[1corona4u]

1. Thanks for your concern.

[Clio the Leo]

2. Which is why he's spending the next two days (and more to come) in OH. NT

[rucky]

3. You're right.

I'm not taking anything for granted in Ohio.

[thoughtcrime1984]

4. Dunno if Bill, Hillary, or Strickland would do that- I hope they would.

An Ohio win would all but guarantee the WH, as would a win in many of the other "battleground" states.

[Schulzz]

5. We are lucky that he has a strategy that doesn't rely on one state.

I agree that Ohio is not won yet.

[ClarkUSA]

6. It's more likely McCain will lose Ohio. Remember, Ken Blackwell isn't SoS anymore.

Democrats control the state levers of government. Heh.

[AngryOldDem]

7. I think Obama should visit rural, southern Ohio, myself.

As I said in 2004, that part of the state is virtually ignored. It may not make a dime's worth of difference, but it beats a dollar's worth of seeming INDIFFERENCE.

I've never been known as a "glass-half-full" kind of gal, but I think Obama can win Ohio. It may not be a cakewalk, but I think the deteriorating economic conditions here are waking a lot of people up. Big time. All McCain is offering at this point is sideshow issues that at the end of the day, most won't care about.

[WI_DEM]

8. He's not taking anything for granted.

[AllieB]

9. I'm concerned more about voter suppression/caging than any of the above.

And that goes for the other swing states also. The RNC is up to their usual dirty tricks.

http://www.democracynow.org/2008/10/9/greg_palast_on_vote_rigging_and

[Bucky]

10. I agree. Ohio is definitely the weak link in Obama's landslide strategy

But other people aren't going to deliver votes to Obama. Obama has to go to Ohio (guess where he is today) and make his own case to them.

He'll win without Ohio. But if he can hammer hard enough, he can still carry that state too.

[alcibiades_mystery]

16. He was conspicuously absent from Ohio for most of September

This leads me to believe that Ohio plays a particular role in a larger strategy: he was saving it for the end in order to really push once McCain is already stretched to the breaking point.

[DinahMoeHum]

29. IOW, use Ohio as the final nail in the McCain-Palin coffin.

...s-w-e-e-t.


:kick::kick::kick:

[Bill McBlueState]

35. This makes a lot of sense

Simulations at fivethirtyeight.com give McCain slightly less than a 1% chance of winning the election if Obama can win Ohio.

[TZ]

11. Actually Kucinich is very UNPOPULAR in SW/rural Ohio (my dad lives there)

You would be better off with Strict land and Sherrod Brown campaigning. Nor would Kerry help (he's a northeasterner invader in their view)
The best way for Obama to win Ohio is to appeal tp the centrist crowd.Kucinich is viewed as a kook by them. Sorry but thats the truth.

[riqster]

13. Strickland in South and East Ohio

...Kooch on the West Side of Cleveland. That way, each works to the audience most suited to them.

Oh, by the way, The Gov. is already working for Obama, although making it noisier wouldn't hurt any.

[alcibiades_mystery]

12. Obama's just getting started in Ohio

He left Ohio until the end for maximum impact. I think you will see him hitting the state hard from here on out. It seems that it was always the strategy to leave Ohio until after the second debate so they could get a good read on the total situation. He will now start heavy on Ohio. Expect 12+ visits over the next three weeks, and huge ad buys. He needs to hold slight leads and move 45% of indys into his camp. It's coming now.

[kennetha]

14. Won't matter if he holds on to Pennsylvania and Wins Virginia

Obama has lots of margin for error. Many states still in play can give him a winning combination. THe main thing is that taking away Virginia is HUGE.

If he also wins Florida, McCain has no chance whatsoever.

[Demi_Babe]

15. You're right and I'd like to see the Clinton's in Ohio for the entire month

[BeyondGeography]

17. We know

Thanks for the reminder.

[occe]

18. I agree

I am glum about Ohio, I just don't think he'll win it :(

[kennetha]

21. Glum about Ohio, but ecstatic about Virginia

With Virginia, we can afford to lose Ohio

[Occam Bandage]

19. Well, duh. That's why it's called a "battleground" state. He could lose FL or VA, too.

Obviously he should reach out to swing constituencies in contested states. That's what campaigning is.

[ShortnFiery]

20. Don't be disheartened. It's still winnable. Stay Strong Obama supporters in OHIO.

:thumbsup: :hi:

[Fire_brand]

22. Barack could lose in Indiana

Barack could lose in Virginia
Barack could lose in North Carolina
Barack could lose in Florida
Barack could lose in Colorado
Barack could lose in Nevada
Barack could lose in New Hampshire
Barack could lose in Missouri
Barack could lose in New Mexico

He should persuade voters to chose him over McCain. Why isn't anyone e-mailing this to the campaign!1!!!!11!!!!!!!!1!

[Heather MC]

23. 7 years ago I was afraid to go to Ohio, because of My Husband's family reaction to me being black

I have been to Ohio several times since then
but this summer I got to do more stuff around the state
we had a race in Medina
We celebrated the 4th in Akron
and again on the 5th in Hudson
and went to the Zoo and several other places

And I have to say the people of Ohio were the nicest people, and alot of places I went I was the only black person, except for the 4th celebration in Akron it was a healthy mix.

[MeDeMax]

32. hello Virginian, glad to have you visit Ohio - n/t

[Heather MC]

33. Thank you, you are always welcomed in VA but if McFAILIN Godforbid wins bring a passport

Because We are going to secede in VA and take our blue state further out into the ocean

:rofl:

[MeDeMax]

37. I love visiting VA, especially the area around the historic triangle - n/t

[DeadManInc]

24. McLame is going for broke on tv ads here in northeast ohio.

There are so many I turned the tv off.

[Hope And Change]

25. Thanks for your concern.

[Thrill]

26. Thats why Brown is on a 2 day Bus Tour with Obama

[CitizenLeft]

27. I think he's in Portsmouth OH later on today...

...which I think borders both KY and WV, or near enough to WV. Just where he needs to be.

I was so hoping he'd come up my way, Cleveland, but he's got a lock on it, so I probably won't get to see him. :(

[WeDidIt]

28. Pssst, McCain IS losing Virginia

Real Clear Politics (R) Has Virginia in Obama's column right now.

[RollWithIt]

30. Kucinich isn't really all that popular outside of West Cleveland...

Definitely not the guy we'd want to use. Strickland and Clinton however, a different story.

[luvs2sing]

31. I wish...

that the wonderful spot that Ralph Stanley did for Barack in Virginia could receive airplay here in Ohio. Ohio is considered the "traditional bluegrass capitol" of the country, and Ralph is only slightly less than God in status for a lot of those people.

That said, I was down in Hocking County earlier this week and saw 7 Obama signs and 4 McCain signs while driving through a very rural area...including the biggest Obama sign I've ever seen in my life. Very surprising...I didn't expect to see even one Obama sign.

And yes...this is my first post. Howdy, y'all! :hi:

[treestar]

34. Welcome to DU

:hi:

[crossroads]

36. Welcome to DU luvs2sing!

[MeDeMax]

38. howdy to you, why on earth did you not take a picture

of the BIGGEST Obama sign ?

welcome to DU, glad to hear from you.

(on edit typo).

[luvs2sing]

42. Well, DOH!!

Yes, good question. We should have stopped to take a pic. If anyone is interested, if you're coming from Route 33, it's on Route 664, south of Logan, just before you get to Route 374. Huge sign, can't miss it! I wish I had time to zip back down and redeem myself. O8)

And thanks for the welcome, all!

[yardwork]

41. Welcome to DU and that's a good point about the Ralph Stanley ad!

I hope that Obama uses that ad widely. It's awesome!

[yardwork]

39. Duh! I think the Obama campaign knows this.

Some of your suggestions are good, others won't work. I'm from rural Ohio. Kucinich and Kerry won't help there at all. Bill Clinton and John Glenn probably won't either. Rural Ohio never voted for any of them before, why would they listen now?

Obama's best approach in Ohio is the one that he appears to be following. The different regions of the state require very different strategies. In the urban centers, it's essential to get out the vote. The Cleveland and Toledo areas up by the lake are strongly union. Obama needs to quiet the fears of white racists there with a populist message. The tanking economy and healthcare crisis are good issues to focus people's attention on the issues and away from cultural fears and bigotry. Obama should use the same approach in the Cincinnati and Dayton areas.

The rural areas are tough. Obama will not win those counties, but he can minimize the impact of these solidly right-wing, fundamentalist Christian, white supremacist gun-fondling survivalists in the following ways:

1. Get local and regional business people to write letters of support for Obama to local papers. Many of these folks are old-time Republicans who are appalled by what Bush has wrought. Get them to tell their fellow business people to vote Obama.

2. Appeal to moderate white Christian congregations. Obama is a moderate. Tell people this. Obama needs to fight the internet lies about his being a Muslim, having ties to terrorists, etc. It's hand-to-hand combat against the ignorance and fears of rural residents. I don't know if it's even worth it. If the Ohio vote isn't stolen again, I think that the urban areas and small town business people will give Ohio to Obama.

It will take decades to bring rural Ohioans back from the Dark Ages.

[ClarkUSA]

40. When are you going to start OPs fretting about losing the rest of the battleground states?

:eyes: That's the reason we all need to make grassroots GOTV a priority this month.