Presidential campaigns left in the dark

Power outages have left the Ohio presidential campaign headquarters for Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain in the dark.

Hurricane Ike hit Columbus hard causing a loss of electricity to portions of the city including the state presidential headquarters of both candidates.

Even without power, the parties are still sending plenty of e-mails.

But information about the logistics of Tuesday’s visit of McCain and Sarah Palin, his vice presidential running mate, to the Mahoning Valley has yet to be released. The two are expected to have a 4 p.m. rally at Winner Aviation at the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport in Vienna.

Also, the Obama campaign has yet to issue an official statement on Thursday’s visit to Youngstown by Joe Biden, the Democratic vice presidential nominee. Biden is coming, but the location and time are still unknown. That information may not be available until Tuesday.

But The Vindicator has learned that Stambaugh Auditorium is no longer the likely location. Instead it appears Biden will speak outdoors on West Federal Street in downtown Youngstown, starting between 6:45 and 7 p.m. Thursday.

Watch Tuesday's Vindicator or www.vindy.com for more details.