Monday, October 30, 2006

Jon Stewart Visits Columbus, Ohio

If you read a newspaper or see a news report on TV, the information is the same-------Ohio could be the determining factor on the Democrats controlling the House of Representatives. Here is an excerpt from the Toronto Star:

If there had been any doubts that this state is America's King of Swing as next week's U.S. mid-term elections approach, they were dashed when the arena lights came up at Ohio State University Saturday night and comic Jon Stewart recoiled in mock amazement.

There, cheering back at him, were more than 10,000 students and faculty, celebrating the arrival in their backyard of Stewart's The Daily Show, the first time the trend-setting late-night satirical news show had come to the Midwest.

Stewart said he brought his "Midwest Midterm Midtacular" to Ohio, which gave the 2004 presidency to George W. Bush, because of its status as a national barometer — and because one political scandal here involved the sale of rare coins....

...If Ohio swings back next week, it will again be kingmaker, handing control of the U.S. Congress to the Democrats.
The state appears to be a Republican graveyard, with angry voters ready to punish the ruling party over the state's economy, their ethical transgressions and the war in Iraq."All those issues have come together here," said Ohio State political scientist Herb Asher.

"In Ohio, it's hard to blame the Democrats for anything because there are no Democrats in power here."

...Asher says although Ohio will likely decide next Tuesday's national results, the state is atypical this time because of its concerns over jobs and ethics. Corruption within Republican ranks had become systemic, the product of "having one party control in this state for a long period of time," he said.

The real fight here is the Pryce-Kilroy battle. Last night, Kilroy told some 25 supporters at a private home that voters were sick of scandal in Washington and Ohio, and the state had paid a disproportionate price in Iraq."Stay the course isn't a strategy, it's a slogan," she said.

Kilroy has implied in ads that Pryce is more interested in protecting friends like Foley than protecting teenage pages in Washington...

This week, Jon Stewart's Daily Show will be broadcast from the campus of The Ohio State Buckeyes. It will be interesting to see how Stewart pokes at the Ohio Republican culture of corruption.