Swinging Through
AP Photo
GOP TICKET: Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain smiles after introducing his running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, in Dayton.
Democratic presidential candidate, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., and his vice presidential running mate Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., center, gets a football autographed by Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin as he holds his daughter, Harlynn Quinn Tomlin, 2, in Pittsburgh, Pa., Friday, Aug. 29, 2008.
Obama, Biden tour key states
Local Republicans praise McCain’s surprise VP selection of Gov. Palin.
After sleeping at a Mahoning County hotel, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is expected to make a brief campaign stop today in the area before heading to a funeral in Cleveland.
Joining Obama, a U.S. senator from Illinois, will be U.S. Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware, his vice presidential running mate, and their wives.
The decision on making the stop and its location won’t be made until early today, though the stop is quite likely.
The visit today would have to be early in the morning and wouldn’t be too long.
The two couples are attending the funeral of U.S. Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones in Cleveland. The memorial service is to start at 11 a.m.
The four were to arrive late Friday at a Mahoning County hotel after a rally in Beaver, Pa., that was to start at 7:30 p.m.
Beaver was the first stop for the foursome after the Democratic National Convention concluded Thursday in Denver.
They will hold a rally later today in Dublin and an invitation-only event Sunday in Toledo as part of their four-day “On the Road to Change” bus tour.
The tour also includes a Sunday stop in Battle Creek, Mich., and a Monday rally in Detroit.
Pennsylvania, Ohio and Michigan are considered battleground states for the presidency.
Democrats from the Mahoning Valley who attended the convention in Denver came away “impressed” and “inspired.”
“It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” said Youngstown Mayor Jay Williams, an Obama supporter who flew to Denver on Thursday to hear the presidential nominee’s speech. “The excitement was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. The atmosphere was great. The speech was probably his finest. He clearly made the case why he should be president.”
Tim Callion of Champion, a delegate, said Obama’s speech was the highlight of the convention. Callion sat next to actress Jodie Foster on Thursday.
“The convention was an overwhelming experience,” he said. “I don’t see how a convention can outdo this one.”
State Rep. Tom Letson, D-64th, an alternate delegate, said he sat “as far away as you could from the stage” during Obama’s speech.
“It was a very memorable convention,” he said. “It’s something you’d like to put in your scrapbook and hold onto for a long, long time. I don’t think I’ll have another political and historical experience like this in my life.”
State Rep. Robert F. Hagan of Youngstown, D-60th, said the convention “was a little too long,” but “the enthusiasm was incredible and overwhelming.”
Once again, Ohio was at the epicenter of presidential politics as U.S. Sen. John McCain of Arizona, who’ll officially become the Republican nominee at its convention, named his running mate in Dayton.
McCain’s selection Friday of little-known Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin came as a huge surprise.
Local Republican leaders admitted they are unfamiliar with Palin, who just three years ago was mayor of a small Alaska town. But they are excited by the choice.
“I’m not familiar with her, but I really like what I’m learning about her,” said Columbiana County Republican Chairman Dave Johnson. “I couldn’t be more pleased. It was a bold and courageous decision to pick a female, a conservative female, which pleases me. It’s an out-of-the-box decision.”
Mark Munroe, Mahoning County Republican vice chairman, said the selection of Palin, governor of Alaska since January 2007, should help McCain attract supporters of U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, who lost the Democratic nomination to Obama.
When asked to elaborate because the politics of Clinton and Palin are so different, Munroe said some women “supported Hillary because she was a woman and not her politics. This makes the McCain ticket more attractive to some women who supported Hillary. This will make the Republican ticket more attractive to women in general.”
Statewide Republicans including Ohio GOP Chairman Bob Bennett and U.S. Sen. George V. Voinovich also hailed the selection. Bennett called her an “inspired choice.” Voinovich said he met Palin last month at a National Governors’ Association event and he “was extremely impressed with her poise and intellect.”
Local Democrats were equally surprised by the selection.
“The Republicans criticize Barack Obama for having little experience, but she has even less,” said Mahoning County Democratic Chairwoman Lisa Antonini. “Disheartened Hillary supporters will not support her. There is unity in the party after the Denver convention.”
Hagan called the choice a “blatant appeal to women. It’s obvious [McCain] didn’t care about the security of the nation with this selection. He only cares about the women vote and winning this election.”
“John McCain put the former mayor of a town of 9,000 with zero foreign policy experience a heartbeat away from the presidency,” said Bill Burton, an Obama spokesman.
Harry Meshel, a former Ohio Democratic chairman and ex-leader of the state Senate, added the decision to select Palin was an attempt to gain support from women, particularly Clinton supporters.
Meshel said the selection was a smart move by Republicans because the other candidates for vice president wouldn’t bring much to the ticket.
“So why not try this,” he said. “The Republicans had to reach out to someone significantly different and finding a two-year female governor from Alaska is significantly different. The Democrats position themselves well coming out of the convention with the Clintons urging unity behind Obama. But it’s still going to be a tough race.”
skolnick@vindy.com