Could Kerry's Pete Rose comments be damaging in Ohio?

[jor_mama]

I don't live in Ohio, but most people I know are wise enough to separate sports from politics. In other words, I'm not a Sox fan, but it doesn't mean when I see Kerry donning the Boston cap today that I begrudge him so much I turn my vote to Kerry.

But I got to wondering. A month or so ago, ESPN released the movie "Hu$tle" about Pete Rose. And I couldn't find the exact numbers, I remember hearing a sequence of numbers related to the percentage of people who felt the movie was realistic. The numbers dropped substantially the closer one got to Cincinnati, especially when the poll was taken in Cincinnati only. Whether that's because folks just know more about the history of Rose there and are more discriminate about artistic license should be another debate.

My honest question is: is the populace of Ohio, specifically Cincy, so loyal to Rose that they would change their vote, or 'decide' their vote to be against Kerry because of his stance on Rose's entrance to the Baseball Hall of Fame? And if so, how much if any effect will this have on Ohio? The interview is to air on SportsCenter Monday night.

Bush, Kerry to Appear on 'SportsCenter'
http://snipurl.com/a538

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

1. Ummmm.... no.

[qanda]

2. You're kidding, right?

eom

[jor_mama]

8. I'm not kidding, no.

There are plenty of threads right now about Schilling for Bush, etc. I figured sports was fair game and it was an honest question.

I live just outside Austin, where football is a religion. It gets people fired up, so I know how passionate some people are about it. And if Kerry, for example, were to come criticize legendary Heisman winner Earl Campbell (not that he would), I have a feeling it would drive people to the polls that might not otherwise come.

So I wonder if the same sentiment exists in Cincinnati about Rose.

[qanda]

11. I actually see where you're coming from

But I guess I never really thought of it that way. Most people who are petty enough to change their vote because of that, probably weren't going to vote for Kerry in the first place. Sorry for discounting your point so quickly.

[jor_mama]

14. No worries. It's the last vestige of sports for awhile for me ...

I'm pretty much a baseball fanatic and not much else. So maybe I was grabbing at straws, too.

[frank frankly]

3. oh no. there goes OHIO! there goes EVERYTHING.

Please, John Kerry, issue a statement saying Pete Rose should be in the Hall Of Fame yesterday!!!

:scared:

[mtnester]

4. No...Bring up Pete Rose in Ohio

and most will tell you it is a crying shame he is not in the Hall of Fame.

Pete and the big red machine are still a big deal here. But not to the extent it will change his vote. Most everyone will also tell you he should not have done what he did.

[Carolab]

5. Good lord

why would you even mention this?

This thread should be locked.

[aldian159]

6. No

no one is gonna change their vote 24 HOURS before the election because the candidate said something about a baseball player. People who hate Kerry in Cincy will hate him more, and people who don't hate Kerry won't give a shit.

[Awsi Dooger]

7. Only if he calls it Riverbank Stadium

And claims he was the batboy when Pete Rose leveled Ray Fosse.

[kerry2win]

9. Some will disagree incuding me

with Kerry's comment,but no way in hell it would affect my vote.You can't agree with someone 100% of the time.

[Texas_Dem]

10. Is this a serious question?

If so the quick answer is no worries.

[blm]

12. Did you know that outside Cincinnati is the largest concentration of White

Supremacists and KKK members in this entire nation?

More than Georgia, or South Carolina or even Alabama. Surprising, eh? No wonder Bush keeps appearing in those areas. Those are his peeps.

[jor_mama]

13. OK, listen, *I WOULDN'T* change my vote

And I'm not saying anyone should. What I'm asking is 'are there people out there clouded enough in the cabeza that will change their vote or decide to vote Bush because they're so blindly devoted to Rose getting into the Hall of Fame?'

[Doctor_J]

15. let's see....

bush gets caught in yet another series of lies about his quagmire, and kerry expresses an opinion about a ballplayer.

if this turns the election, we're in deeper shit than i thought.

[winga222]

16. Bush already has Cincinnati so it won't much matter

To defend the poster, it seems as legitimate a question as most, since many a person is supporting Bush for a lot less. However, I think Bush has that unthinking, irrational bloc sewn up, so I doubt many here will care one way or another.

And, yes, Cincinnati has more than it's share of conservatives and, yes, the Right to Life movement was born here. However, I've never come across any serious concentration of white supremacists or KKK members, other that those who try to put up a cross on Fountain Square at Xmas (and those are "coming to the big city" from rural Ohio and KY).