In Ohio, Obama's ground game outguns McCain's

[jefferson_dem]

In Ohio, Obama's ground game outguns McCain's
McCain has struggled to gain momentum in a battleground state that Bush won in 2004 -- and that he needs to win to beat the odds.
By Bob Drogin and Robin Abcarian

6:25 PM PST, November 2, 2008

Reporting from Delaware, Ohio — John McCain has targeted this wealthy area just north of Columbus as one of 15 counties in Ohio where he needs to drive up his vote tally if he is to beat Barack Obama on Tuesday in this must-win state.

But on Friday night, only nine volunteers manned the 24 phones in the McCain campaign office. The phone bank began operating on a daily basis just two weeks ago. And only five people have shown up on most weekdays since then to canvas local neighborhoods.

Obama's campaign, in contrast, has flooded this Republican bastion with volunteers. Some canvassers first hit the winding streets of nearby subdivisions in March during the Democratic primary, and they have worked almost nonstop ever since in search of supporters.

Ohio is a battleground in the presidential race, and here's the view on the front line: McCain's get-out-the-vote operation has struggled to build momentum, and it appears outgunned by Obama's.

Both campaigns have mobilized armies of volunteers and paid staff for the final push across the state, and both claim their efforts to target likely voters are more sophisticated and more efficient than in 2004. In that contest, President Bush won reelection by beating back a stiff challenge from Democratic nominee John F. Kerry in Ohio.

Back then, Bush's aides started early in the year and built an elaborate ground-up organization that focused on driving up the GOP vote here in Delaware County and similar, fast-growing exurbs that surround Cincinnati, Dayton and Cleveland.

This time, the Democrats have shifted strategies -- and may have the upper hand.

Learning from the Bush effort, Obama has taken his fight directly into suburban and rural GOP strongholds in an effort to curb McCain's potential margins. Obama has 82 offices in the state, nearly twice as many as McCain. Labor unions are backing his effort with more than 12,000 volunteers.

<SNIP>

http://www.latimes.com/news/la-na-ground3-2008nov03,0,2290330,print.story

[samplegirl]

1. I surely hope so...

I never wanted Ohio to be the deciding factor. Anywhere but Ohio as I don't have much trust left in Ohio.
I have been working my tail off and tomorrow is another long day of canvassing.
N.E. Ohio is just awful full of McCain fans. Why???? I will never know.
N.E. Ohio has gone so far down and the job loss so terrific a vote for McCain would just be suicide.

[Berry Cool]

2. You need to go to different parts of NE Ohio.

For one, get the hell out of the rural parts.