Ohioans still divided on candidates

Bush and Kerry plan more visits to the Buckeye State.
By DAVID SKOLNICK
VINDICATOR POLITICS WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- The chief strategist for the Bush-Cheney re-election effort freely admits Democratic nominee John Kerry will pull ahead of President Bush in polls coming out of his party's national convention.
"The average bounce after a convention is 15 percent, but I'm not sure it will be that high this time," said Matt Dowd, the Bush-Cheney chief strategist. "We'll bring it back down after our convention," which runs from Aug. 29 to Sept. 4 in New York City.
Democratic officials say the bounce coming out of the convention, which ended Thursday, will be considerably smaller than Dowd's 15-percent projection because the race is so tight.
During a Thursday teleconference call with Ohio reporters, Dowd said it will be an intense battle between Bush and Kerry in a handful of states, most notably the Buckeye State.
Ohio is key
"We believe the race in Ohio will be close till Election Day," he said. "It's important, and we expect to win Ohio, but we know we'll have to fight, and it will be close."
Bush defeated Al Gore in Ohio by only 3.6 percent in the 2000 general election, even though the Democrat stopped campaigning in the state with about three weeks left in the race because his campaign advisers believed he couldn't win here. Gore, instead, concentrated on winning other states, most notably Florida.
"I hope it's not as close as 2000, but it may be closer this time around," Dowd said.
State polls have Bush and Kerry in statistical dead heats in Ohio.
Bush will visit Ohio today with a stop in Cleveland and a fund-raiser in Kirtland Hills. He then goes to Canton and Cambridge on Saturday. Kerry and John Edwards, his vice presidential running mate, visit Zanesville on Saturday and Bowling Green on Sunday.
This would be Bush's 20th visit to Ohio, including one to the Mahoning Valley, since he took office in January 2001. This is Kerry's 11th visit to Ohio, including two to the Valley, as a presidential candidate.
The struggle
Dowd said he expects more visits by Bush to Democratic strongholds in an effort to dilute the Kerry vote in those areas.
Two Ohio Democratic congressmen aren't impressed with Bush and say he can continue to visit Ohio, but he won't make inroads here.
"President Bush has been in Ohio many times to defend his failed economic policy," said U.S. Rep. Sherrod Brown of Lorain, D-13th, during a separate teleconference call Thursday with Ohio reporters.
U.S. Rep. Ted Strickland of Lisbon, who was on the same call with Brown, said he wonders what Bush could say to the more than 200,000 Ohioans who lost their jobs since the Republican became president.
"His administration is actively pursuing policies that hurt American workers," said Strickland, D-6th. "John Kerry has a very specific plan to create jobs and provide health care. Kerry has a tax policy that helps people who need the most help."
skolnick@vindy.com