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Reporter
Bill Cohen
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Obama in Chillicothe
Monday, October 13, 2008
After surging ahead in several public opinions polls in Ohio, Democrat Barack Obama tried to preserve that lead today, by wrapping up two days of campaigning in a key swing region of the state, Appalachia. Obama spoke in Chillicothe.
WKSU's statehouse correspondent Bill Cohen reports:
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Obama in Chillicothe
The sour Ohio economy was a large part of Barack Obama's speech from the steps of the Ross County Courthouse. It's the kind of area in which Democrat John Kerry rarely campaigned four years ago " ceding rural Ohio to the Republicans.
But about 1,000 supporters gathered to hear Obama's message on the economic woes of the country and of Ohio. He blamed Republican policies.
"We cannot afford another four years of the failed economic theories that say we should give more and more to millionaires and billionaires and hope that prosperity trickles down on everybody else" Obama said.
That struck a chord with Deloris Christy. She's long been a Republican voter, and says Obama will be the first Democrat presidential candidate she'll vote for. She says she's got plenty of reasons to switch.
"Don't like the war in Iraq, don't the economy that's goin' on. We're about the low man on the pole when it comes to popularity overseas. Everyone seems to blame us for everything" said Christy.
Obama has been targeting the Appalachian Ohio vote. When the region goes blue, Democrats tend to take Ohio and the White House. The same applies for the Republicans. Ronald Reagan and both George Bushes won here and went on to the presidency.
While all of the polls show Obama ahead of John McCain, his supporters know one big issue could hinder Obama: gun control. The NRA grades Obama with an 'F' on gun rights. At this rally, Governor Strickland tried to help Obama. He's and NRA member and consistently gets and 'A' from the group.
"If you are a sportsman, if you are a gun owner, you have nothing to fear from Barack Obama," Strickland said.
But that may be a tough sell here. Jim McKosky, an NRA member, said he voted for Strickland because of his support of gun-owner rights, but he fears Obama. To him, Strickland's reassurance is meaningless because he would have no power over President Obama.
"That would be like me telling my children not to do something. Once they're out of my sight, they'll do what they want to do," he said.
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