There's a reason they're called 'political yard signs'

With just a few days before Tuesday's primary, candidates are doing what they can to get their name out to voters.
Here are a few recent ill-conceived, questionable, poor or odd decisions made by candidates running in Tuesday's primary. I could give you more but I only get so much space each Friday.
First, they're called yard signs for a reason. Supporters of candidates put them in their yards. If the signs are in empty fields or in front of unoccupied buildings, they're called litter.
There is an old political adage that "signs don't vote." But if you've got signs in people's yards, you've got a pretty good shot at getting the votes of those who live inside the homes. Do candidates believe people drive past empty fields, see a sign and suddenly decide to vote for them?
Endorsements are great -- typically. Former Belmont County Sheriff Richard D. Stobbs, a Republican candidate in the 6th Congressional District primary, sent me three e-mails touting his endorsement from former Army Secretary Thomas White.
This is the same Thomas White fired by Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld in 2003 over long-standing conflicts between the two. Also, White served as an executive with the Enron Corp. from 1990 to 2001. While never implicated in the Enron scandal, he was questioned by a U.S. Senate panel in 2002 about the company.
Hmm, a ringing endorsement from a former Enron executive fired as Army secretary. That should help Stobbs grab some votes in his long-shot bid to win the primary.
Stobbs isn't the only candidate attempting to appeal to veterans.
State Sen. Charlie Wilson, a 6th District Democratic write-in candidate, held a teleconference for the media a few days ago with ex-U.S. Sen. Max Cleland of Georgia, the former head of the U.S. Veterans Administration.
Ever since the George W. Bush and John Kerry campaigns overdosed Ohio media in 2004 with teleconferences, I've not been a fan of them. I guess I'm not alone. Media outlets in the 12-county district race were invited to participate. Besides me, the only media person to call in to the conference was a Steubenville talk radio host.
A day after the Cleland teleconference, the Wilson campaign held another one with about a half-dozen reporters participating. This one was mind-boggling. The campaign sent an e-mail the evening before the teleconference with Don McTigue, a prominent Ohio Democratic election law attorney. The mind-boggling part is the conversation with McTigue was "intended for background purposes only," according to the media advisory. That meant no one could quote McTigue.
I'd let you know what he said -- nothing new -- but I fear the Wilson campaign would hunt me down.
Another good way to gain attention for your candidacy is a profile article, but ex-Youngstown Mayor George M. McKelvey doesn't necessarily agree with that assessment.
McKelvey, a Mahoning County commissioner candidate on the Democratic ticket, didn't endear himself to those in his political party in 2004 when he endorsed Bush, a Republican.
Joe Milicia, an Associated Press reporter who used to work for The Vindicator, wrote an article over the weekend about McKelvey's election effort, and his past relationship with the president. In anticipation of the AP article, McKelvey faxed the local media saying that he strongly believed Milicia wanted to distort and/or misrepresent a quote the then-mayor made in 2004 that "the left wing hates George Bush the most because he believes in God."
McKelvey also wrote, "Many newspaper reporters today are agenda-driven," and while he was hopeful Milicia wasn't like that he wasn't optimistic.
McKelvey's attempt at damage control was a waste of time. Milicia's article was fair and balanced.
In his pre-emptive strike, Mc-Kelvey wrote that he was "looking forward to having a belly laugh with you after Mr. Milicia 'steps in it' this weekend." Well, I did get a belly laugh.