"Ohio still pivotal turf in presidential race; 4 years later, economy rules" by Brian MacQuarrie | Globe staff, June 19, 2012
TOLEDO, Ohio - As grateful as autoworkers are for the help, the $85 billion government rescue that pulled GM and Chrysler from the brink might not be enough to guarantee President Obama the same overwhelming support he received here in 2008.
“A lot of people are leaning toward the Republicans, I think, because they feel Mr. Obama has not fulfilled what he said he could,’’ said Ruben Sauceda, 53, a father of eight adopted children who has worked for the automaker for 26 years [and] plans to vote for the president.
The battle for Ohio has begun.
When President Obama and Mitt Romney visited Ohio on Thursday, the first time they had campaigned in the same state on the same day, they underscored how critical its 18 electoral votes will be to victory in November....
See: Obama, Romney give dueling visions on economy
The Romney campaign hopes to upend the state’s 2008 result, when Obama beat Senator John McCain by five percentage points.
Romney is expected to do well in rural and southern Ohio, and conventional wisdom holds that the president will dominate in the industrial north. But interviews in Toledo and its suburbs indicated that unease about Obama’s presidency extends even to the floor of an auto factory that has flourished since the bailout.
“It’s hard to square it. This is my bread and butter, but it’s not a one-issue thing for me,’’ said Bob Molloy, 57, a GM millwright who said he is against abortion, concerned about the national debt, and favors small government.
Any erosion of support in lunch-bucket Toledo could prove disastrous for Obama, who will need the 2-to-1 ratio he garnered here in 2008 to offset Romney’s strengths elsewhere. The latest compilation of polls by RealClearPolitics had Obama ahead here, 46.4 percent to 44.6.
I can already see John King tapping away at his preprogrammed color-coded county maps.
Ray Wood, president of Local 14 of the United Auto Workers, conceded that memories can be short, even among workers who average about $60,000 annually at the GM plant across the street.
Wood, a church deacon, illustrated his task with a biblical reference: “The nation of Israel had to constantly be reminded what got it done for them.’’
They can't even stay out of an article about AmeriKan politics.
Elsewhere in the state, observers said, the excitement that helped propel Obama four years ago appears to have waned despite a 7.3 percent unemployment rate, which is better than the US mark of 8.2 percent and has declined 10 consecutive months.
Ever notice almost every state is below the national average?
General Motors has rebounded, natural-gas drilling is expanding, and the state has added about 157,300 jobs since December, 2009.
One would think they could do without the water-polluting fracking, but....
Still....
“We’re no better here than when he took office,’’ said Tom Eckhoff, 43, the night manager at Ideal Hot Dog, a favorite lunch spot among autoworkers. “I’ll be honest with you: I’m a Democrat but I’ll vote for Romney.’’
When asked specifically how Romney would improve the economy, Eckhoff said, “I don’t know, but I know we can’t afford to go down the same road.’’
I used to think that; however, EVERY TIME WE HAVE VOTED for CHANGE the LAST THREE ELECTIONS things have GOTTEN WORSE!
We ELECTED(?) DEMOCRATS to CHECK BUSH and we got a SURGE and INCREASED SPYING!
We gave Democrats a FILIBUSTER-PROOF MAJORITY (with Joe Lieberman as the gate-keeper), and we get an EXTENSION of the BUSH TAX CUTS and a CRAPPY CORPORATE HEALTH LAW!
We turn control of the House back over to Republicans and rather than shrink the tyranny and recall the empire they turn around and attack public employee unions.
Maybe this time you should just STICK with the DEVIL that you are DANCING WITH NOW, America.
The issue of race could also play a small but significant role.
Warren Charley, 46, a GM forklift operator who is black, said it will influence some white coworkers.
“I don’t say they say it directly - ‘Just won’t vote for him because he’s black’ - but they’ll give you a reason that makes no sense,’’ Charley said. “You can see right through it.’’
Paul Beck, a political science professor at Ohio State University, concurred that race will steer some voters away from Obama.
“There is still a segment of the electorate, and these are often white, working-class males, who harbor this kind of racial prejudice,’’ said Beck, who estimated that they comprise 3 to 5 percent of that group.
Yeah, okay, but they didn't vote for him last time, either, so to me it's a non-issue.
Such questions - of style, competency, race - underscore the president’s task, even among Democrats.
“Right now, the real challenge that Obama faces is whipping up enthusiasm in the ranks,’’ Beck said. “It’s not what you did for me yesterday; it’s what you did for me today.’’
An Obama campaign official, who asked not to be identified, disputed suggestions that enthusiasm is lagging....
As important as Ohio is to Obama, it might be more critical to Romney. No Republican has won the presidency without carrying the state.
“Romney is the rich guy, and the rich guy who got rich basically by downsizing plants,’’ said Beck. “For ordinary white working-class Americans, particularly males, they are very negative about the Romney types and are inclined to attribute some of their economic woes’’ to them.
Hi, world.
Ken Hatzinikolis, 73, a retired union steward, said over lunch that Romney’s experience in private equity has not exposed him to the concerns of most workers.
“He might know the office part of it,’’ Hatzinikolis said, “but he doesn’t know what the guy on the floor is doing.’’
Typical of most AmeriKan corporations.
Romney also could be hurt by the overwhelming defeat of a statewide referendum in November to reduce bargaining rights for public unions, including police and firefighters - a ballot measure, pushed by Governor John Kasich, a Republican.
Yes, in a free and fair election Obama should win Ohio; however. Kasich is the wild card.
“What that did was damage the Republican brand in Ohio,’’ said Paul Sracic, chairman of the political science department at Youngstown State University. “It may be hard for Mitt Romney to come and reach out and grab those voters back.’’
--more--"
"Mitt Romney predicts he’ll win Wisconsin, June 19, 2012
The fix is in, folks!
JANESVILLE, Wis. - Mitt Romney sought Monday to capitalize on Republican Governor Scott Walker’s victory in a contentious recall election and predicted that momentum from that race will help him win the state come November and, with it, the White House.
Also see: Wisconsin Recall Recall
Wisconsin hasn’t voted for a Republican for president since 1984, and President Obama won big here in 2008. But Republicans sense an opportunity after Walker survived a Democratic push to oust him after he took on public sector unions. So does Romney.
“I think President Obama had just put this in his column,’’ Romney
told cheering supporters inside a textile company with Walker at his
side as his six-state bus tour brought him to Janesville, about 75 miles
southwest of Milwaukee. “He just assumed from the very beginning that
Wisconsin was going to be his. But you know what? We’re going to win
Wisconsin and we’re going to get in the White House.’’
The stop opened the fourth day of a five-day bus tour that has taken Romney from New Hampshire to Pennsylvania and Ohio....
Obama carried the state by 14 points in 2008 - an unusual margin, given that Democrats John F. Kerry in 2004 and Al Gore in 2000 each won Wisconsin by less than a single percentage point. But the state has shifted decidedly to the right since then. Walker and Republicans swept into power in 2010, turning the entire state Legislature to their side and knocking Senator Russ Feingold, a Democrat, from office.
“We are not really a red state or a blue state. We really aren’t,’’ said state Senator Tim Cullen, a moderate Democrat from Janesville who previously worked as a Cabinet secretary for Tommy Thompson, former Republican governor. “People in this state split their ticket in huge numbers, so it’s not at all unusual to have people vote for Governor Walker and President Obama.’’
--more--"
Related: Obama won exit polls
Also see: How Mitt Romney Will Steal Florida
Start filling the map in for yourself.
