http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/116271953825320.xml&coll=2Senate in the balance as GOP candidates gain in key races
Sunday, November 05, 2006
Stephen Koff
Plain Dealer Washington Bureau Chief
Unless two-term Republican Sen. Mike DeWine can pull a stunning turnaround this weekend and persuade a lot more people to vote for him, he is likely to lose on Tuesday to Democratic challenger Sherrod Brown, a pre-election Plain Dealer poll shows.
But whether Democrats would then rule the Senate is uncertain. Polls in the nation's most competitive Senate races show Republicans have gained strength in several close contests. With control of Congress the key prize in Tuesday's elections, the new polls show that neither party at this late point is assured of Senate victory.
"It's very much up for grabs, because you've got at least four races that could go either way," said Brad Coker of Mason-Dixon Polling and Research Inc. Mason-Dixon conducted the poll of Ohio for The Plain Dealer and polls of other states for several other news organizations, including MSNBC and McClatchy Newspapers.
In Ohio, Brown has a lead of 6 percentage points, at 50 percent to 44 percent, among likely voters. Five percent of voters were undecided, which is not enough by itself to shift the race to DeWine...
http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/State(Blackwell) advises counties not to scan absentee ballots early
http://www.cleveland.com/newsflash/cleveland/index.ssf?/base/politics-1/1162693453258290.xml&storylist=cleveland11/4/2006, 11:02 p.m. ET
By RACHEL HOAG
The Associated Press
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The secretary of state's office urged counties Saturday not to begin scanning absentee ballots before Election Day because of security concerns, a day after a judge ruled scanning could start Monday.
County election boards that decide to scan the ballots early must implement a security plan, including password-protected access to counting equipment, to ensure election results remain under wraps, according to the state's directive.
Counties also must secure access to scanning locations, ensure that two bipartisan overseers control absentee ballots and not disclose vote totals until the polls close on Tuesday, said the order from Monty Lobb, assistant secretary of state. Secretary of State Ken Blackwell, the state's chief elections official, is the Republican candidate for governor.
Some counties may already have the proper procedures in place, and the office will communicate with election boards to ensure the security of the ballots, though the office prefers counties not scan them early, spokesman James Lee said...
News groups take measures to quarantine exit-polling results
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2003348274_exit05.htmlBy Matea Gold
Los Angeles Times
NEW YORK — Haunted by the bungled calls and leaked information that plagued the coverage of the past three nationwide elections, a group of news organizations is taking no chances Tuesday.
This time around, the members of the National Election Pool — a consortium of five broadcast and cable networks and The Associated Press that commissions exit polls of the major races — have decided to sequester two analysts from each news organization in a secret "quarantine room" in New York, where they alone will get access to the first waves of data from precincts around the country.
Stripped of their cellphones and BlackBerrys — and even monitored when they use the bathrooms — the representatives will be able to study the results of the surveys but will not be allowed to communicate them to their newsrooms until 5 p.m. EST, although results won't be broadcast until later. Projections will be made for each race in a state, one at a time, after all the polls in a state are closed...
The National Election Pool consists of ABC, The Associated Press, CBS, CNN, Fox News and NBC...
Why is DeWine quiet about ‘war for oil’ claims in book by conservative political writer?
http://www.cantonrep.com/index.php?ID=317497&Category=7Sunday, November 5, 2006
In his 2006 book, “American Theocracy,” conservative political writer Kevin Phillips makes the case the Bush administration invaded Iraq for oil. The administration — the first where the president, vice president and secretary of state are from big oil (Rice: director, Chevron Oil) — planned a 2001 invasion prior to 9/11.
The Global Policy Forum and others estimate “untapped” Iraqi oil costs $1 per barrel to produce, yielding profits estimated between $4 trillion and $5 trillion. Fifty years of production could yield $80 billion to $90 billion or more per year, far exceeding annual profits of Exxon/Mobil, ChevronTexaco, BP and Royal Dutch/Shell combined.
He writes that Saddam Hussein, on the verge of having oil sanctions lifted, intended to reward France, China and Russia with exclusive oil rights for violating sanctions and support in the U.N. Security Council...
Terrorism — convenient subterfuge for oil interests? We pray Phillips is wrong. With $5 trillion at stake, it may be naive thinking otherwise. Why is Bush’s Sen. Mike DeWine, an Intelligence Committee member, conspicuously quiet on the issue? Is it because DeWine received $400,000 from the oil and gas lobby? We should demand under-oath answers. Sherrod Brown and a Democrat majority will get them.
DONALD SINGER, CANTON
"We've got to knock on every single door," screamed former Democratic Senate candidate Paul Hackett, out from Ohio to boost the Brown troops, at a spirited rally Saturday afternoon at the Roseville Opera House.
"You can rest on Wednesday," Hackett told the 200 or so flag-waving Brown loyalists chanting "Char-lee, Char-lee, Char-lee."...
At the Brown rally later, the second of the day for the retired Air Force officer, Brown said "the goal today is to get people fired up."...
For the Brown campaign, that means pounding on 60,000 doors before polls close on Tuesday, said campaign manager Alex Posorske...
http://www.sacbee.com/111/story/71768.htmlBrown defined DeWine first
http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/elizabeth_auster/index.ssf?/base/opinion/1162633151132110.xml&coll=2Sunday, November 05, 2006
Elizabeth Auster
Plain Dealer Columnist
...And that wasn't all. Brown cast DeWine not merely as clueless, but also as spineless. In Brown's portrayal, DeWine was a limp figure hopelessly in the pockets of people stronger than himself - President Bush, pharmaceutical executives, oil company execs and so on.
Meanwhile, Brown was portraying himself as an outspoken, empathetic politician who would have the guts to fight for ordinary Ohioans in the Senate.
Not surprisingly, a new Plain Dealer poll shows Brown's favorable ratings have climbed from 30 percent in April to 47 percent, while DeWine's have barely risen, from 41 percent to 43 percent...
But if DeWine fails to hold the seat, it won't be due entirely to forces beyond his control. It will also be because his campaign fell short on fundamentals - which cannot be said about Brown's.
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
