The Upcoming Elections

Polls and Early Voting!

As of September 21, Senator McCain leads by an average of 6 points in Ohio, but what does that mean on Election Day? Will the McCain/Palin lead hold until Election Day 42 days from now? A better question may be:  How far ahead will McCain be in 9 days when the election really starts in Ohio?

Yes, with absentee and early voting, elections begin in 9 days with up to 33% of Ohio voters voting in advance of Election Day. The question for the Obama campaign is: Could a big lead for Senator McCain at that point eliminate Senator Obama’s ability to make up the difference in the days that remain?

Republicans and the Ohio House

In the past 30 days, Senator McCain and Governor Palin have taken a 10 point deficit and turned it into a 6 point lead.  As a result, prospects for the Republicans to retain control of the Ohio House seem to be improving. Recent polling shows the generic ballot narrowing in competitive districts and Democrat-held seats previously thought unwinnable this year are now ripe for the picking.

Statement from Ohio House Speaker Jon Husted on Removal of Sick Days Proposal from the Ballot

 

Columbus – The following statement can be attributed to Ohio House Speaker Jon Husted (R- Kettering) regarding the removal of the paid sick days proposal from the ballot:

 “This is a victory for all Ohioans. This proposal would have hurt Ohio businesses and driven jobs out of our state. It was poorly crafted, confused voters and would have placed Ohio at a significant disadvantage to compete with other states, much less in the global economy.

“From the beginning I opposed and spoke out against this proposal. Its removal from the ballot today only proves that, with perseverance and determination, we can work to defeat bad ideas from internal and external forces that would harm Ohio’s economy.

“Because it would have hurt Ohio ’s economy, we should also continue to oppose similar legislation at the federal level. Just as this would have hurt Ohio ’s competitiveness with Indiana , federal legislation would have the same effect with India and Indonesia .

“We must do more to make the American economy competitive in the global environment, not harm our state and national economies with more government regulation.”

 

 

41st Birthday

On August 25, 2008, I turned 41.

There is nothing significant about 41, but a birthday is always a time to be thankful for life’s blessings and opportunities.

With every passing year, you tell your children what the past was like, way back then, you know, in pre-internet days.

Recently, a friend sent some information on 1967, the year I was born. Let me share:

1967

2008

1st Class Stamp	$0.05	$0.41
Milk	$0.99	$3.69
New Home	$22,700	$246,000
Population	198.7 million	303.7 million
Best Actor	Rod Steiger
Best Actress	Katherine Hepburn
Movies	In the Heat of the Night, Hang ‘Em High, Bonnie and Clyde, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner

Other notable things from 1967:

• PBS was created
• LBJ needed a tax increase to support the Great Society Plan
• Israel won the Six-Day War 
• Thurgood Marshall was named the first African-American Supreme Court Justice 
• Anti-Vietnam protestors demonstrated at the Pentagon 
• Apollo I launch pad fire kills astronauts Grissom, White and Chaffee 
• Oh, yes! And Oil was discovered in Alaska

It is always good to look ahead and plan for the future. It is also good when planning that future to remember the successes, sacrifices and mistakes of the past.