Battlegrounders
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OHIO: LIFE IN A BATTLEGROUND STATE [Kevin Holtsberry 10/31 11:14 PM]

What is life like in a crucial battleground state like Ohio? It means your mailbox is stuffed with campaign flyers to the tune of four or five a day. It means phone calls from the BC campaign, from the National, state, local GOP, and from celebrities on behalf of the above. I have been getting three or four calls a day on terrorism/national security (today it was Arnold Schwarzennager); on marriage/values (yesterday it was Michael Reagan); and on Kerry as a risky choice (last week it was Ben Stein). These are in addition to the calls from the BC campaign about volunteer activities and from the Ohio party making sure you know your polling location.

It also means watching dozens of campaign commercials. You can't turn on the TV without seeing a campaign ad from dog catcher up to president. All of the liberal 527s are running ads here as are the Swift Boat Vets. The "Ashley" ad is running pretty heavy this weakend (in case anyone is wondering the first time she saw it, my wife cried). And when you aren't watching ads you are watching the news media talking about the campaign, quite frequently about the campaign here in Ohio. I saw three sperate stories on Ohio on two different networks this evening. In Ohio even the national news feels local.

It also means seeing volunteers walking through your neighborhood knocking on doors and handing out literature. Everyday I look out my window I see people walking the neighborhood with clipboards and leaflets. Our polling place is right down the street so votes here are low hanging fruit. The weather this weekend was ideal, sunny and in the sixties, but rain and thunderstorms are predicted for Monday and Tuesday.

This is hand to hand combat folks. There simply was nothing like this in 2000. Everything seems to indicate that this race will come down to voter turnout in a handful of states. The BC campaign here in Ohio is certainly pulling out all the stops. In two days we will see if it was enough.