The Presidential election is now almost one month away, so I thought I would take it upon myself to give both candidates, Senators Barack Obama and John McCain, a little piece of advice. Since it seems that Ohio will decide the next President of the United States of America, I thought I would let the candidates in on a little secret—Ohio is Buckeye country.
Red, blue, elephant, donkey...Ohio is none of those. It's scarlet, with a giant nut. All a candidate has to do to win Ohio would be come out and say something to the likes of "Go Bucks!" or "Screw Michigan," although that might be political suicide elsewhere.
Let's think about this for a second. Ninety percent of people in Ohio are Ohio State fans. To me, this makes perfect sense. If I am Obama or McCain and I am in Ohio campaigning then I am walking out to Hang On Sloopy and opening my speech with a big "O-H."
We saw what happened when Carson Palmer spoke poorly about our beloved Buckeyes. He practically alienated his entire fan base because he wanted to talk about his Trojans. Well, Carson, karma is making its way back around, and your elbow tendinitis will hopefully keep you sidelined all year. Serves you right!
I have studied in political science and I brought this up to a professor of mine, and while he laughed about it, as it was only partly a joke; the more I think about this, the more I realize that a stunt like this would almost guarantee added support from Ohioans.
Seriously! If John McCain stopped in Ohio and came out wearing a scarlet sweater vest with an American flag pinned to it, would you not automatically cheer? I would. If Barack Obama showed up in Ohio wearing an Ohio State pin and singing Hang On Sloopy, would you not cheer? I would!
Unfortunately, none of this will happen. The candidates will make their stops in Ohio and chat with us about the jobs that we are losing, and the $700 billion bailout that we will all spend lifetimes paying off, and off-shore drilling, and on and on. But all they would have to say is two letters to garner my vote.
If one of them were to come out and start with a roaring "O-H!" I dont care who it is or what my political affiliation is, I am voting for them. At least they get what this state is all about. It's blue collar, 9-5, punch the clock, three yards, and a cloud of dust. Not some big suits sitting at a conference table wondering why their bigtime corporation just went bankrupt and now turning to the government to bail them out.
The truth does not lie. The only time a President has been elected without winning Ohio was 1944 and 1960. If you are doing math, since 1904, 24 of the 26 Presidents took Ohio. That is a 92 percent clip we are picking winners at. Further evidence that McCain should heed my advice: No Republican has been elected President without carrying Ohio since honest Abe Lincoln in 1860!
So, Sen. McCain and Sen. Obama, it is simple, really. Swing through Ohio and show your Buckeye pride. Maybe end your speech with a "how firm thy friendship, O-HI-O!" and see where it gets you.
I would be willing to bet that you would definitely gain supporters, even if everything else you tell us will never happen.
2 comments Last one added 9 months ago — Leave a Comment
Cheryll Phipps 9 months ago
Strange how the Dems paint John McCain as causing job loss, wall street meltdown, the home mortgage crisis and all that ails America. I never knew John McCain held so much power, did you? It never occurred to me how totally blameless and helpless the Democratic Controlled Congress was until I realized how much power McCain must have been holding all this time! I had no idea of how helpless the people where though their votes and their Dem Representatives were against the magnificent power of Senator John McCain. The question is how did this lone man acquire such unprecedented power and how can we ever stop this kind of madness again? I know! We will give total Executive Power to a far left liberal less than 4 year Senator to fix our mighty and yes, self made woes. It's easier than accepting personal and community responsibility. Now we will take money from those the government decides has too much and give it to whom the government thinks should have it. Nothing like government redistribution of the individuals wallet. The everyday person is buying into Obama's change message for only one great reason. That is the promise of money. The promise of government money you don't think has to be paid back is the greatest aphrodisiac of all! Remember also that Obama was all for this bailout that will only have one outcome, and that is it will plunge us deeper than this country has ever seen. The dollar will be worthless and Obama will never have to make good on his promises of free money. Of course the real behind the scenes man who will really be responsible for Obama's failures will be John McCain the effigy of total power as the Democrats have so boldly stated.
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John Calvin 9 months ago
@Cheryll: The Wallstreet meltdown and the credit crunch is the fault of excessive deregulation conducted by Republican legislature: such as the overturning of the Glass-Seagall Act of 1933 (yes, Pres. Clinton is to blame for the overturning too). I mean it makes zero sense to let a retail bank (that lends mortgages) become integrated with an investment bank because the latter will not properly evaluate risks because the mortgage came from under its own roof. Republicans, including McCain, have been all about deregulation (nothing wrong with that, even I support the free market in 98% of cases). However, the free market fails at specific times, especially when considering externalities. Republicans do not account for such externalities, except in the case of the military. Obama, however, strikes the proper balance between Clinton-esque moderation of free market policies and the more traditional Democratic message of responsible regulation.
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