Gov. Bob Taft said the focus on Ohio by both campaigns is unprecedented. "I've never seen anything like this week, or the last couple of weeks for that matter," said Taft, a Republican and chairman of the Bush-Cheney 2004 Ohio Leadership Team.
Last days of 2000 campaign quiet by contrast to this week in Ohio
ANDREW WELSH-HUGGINS
Associated Press
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Four years ago, George W. Bush and Al Gore gave Ohio the brush-off in the campaign's final days, with Gore leaving for good after Oct. 4 to concentrate on other electoral vote-rich states and Bush making just two October visits.
What a contrast to the final full week before what some call the busiest election in history, with President Bush expected in Ohio Wednesday and Thursday, Democratic challenger John Kerry on Thursday and both vice presidential candidates preparing for repeat visits.
"This has been the most intense campaign I've ever seen - it started earlier, it went up with advertising earlier, we had field staff earlier, we had people yelling at me they didn't have signs earlier," said Jim Ruvolo, chairman of the Kerry campaign in Ohio.
"There's nothing about this campaign that reminds me of anything before, and that intensity has not lessened," he said Monday.
Polls show that the race between Bush and Kerry in the key swing state is too close to call.
In 2000, Gore's last stop in Ohio was an Oct. 4 rally before thousands in downtown Warren, a union stronghold in northeastern Ohio.
Bush stopped in suburban Columbus the next day, then made a quick visit about three weeks later, rallying supporters in an airplane hanger in Toledo on Oct. 26. That was part of a last-minute push by Bush that included a visit by Dick Cheney to a suburban Columbus factory and visits by Bush's sister, Doro Bush, and mother, former first lady Barbara Bush.
In total, Bush and Gore combined for 24 visits in 2000. Bush and Kerry have combined for 60 visits this year, including seven so far this month.
Gov. Bob Taft said the focus on Ohio by both campaigns is unprecedented.
"I've never seen anything like this week, or the last couple of weeks for that matter," said Taft, a Republican and chairman of the Bush-Cheney 2004 Ohio Leadership Team.
"The whole country is ready for Nov. 2 to come - this has been a long, intense election season," Taft said. "But we still have a lot of work to do over these remaining eight days."
For insurance agent Dick Wood, the difference from four years ago is the number of TV ads he's seeing.
"You're hearing the same message over and over again - I can't imagine anybody by this time not deciding who they're going to vote for," said Wood, 53, of suburban Columbus, taking a lunch break at a popular market north of downtown. He plans to vote for Bush.
"It seems to me that it's overkill but they're both doing it so there must be a reason for it," Wood said.
Candidates coming back to Ohio this week have likely stopped trying to persuade swing voters and are now concentrating on mobilizing their base - making sure their supporters go out and vote for them, said Stephen Brooks, a University of Akron political analyst.
"It is still a tightrope wire the two candidates have to walk," Brooks added. "The way to really rally your base is to move a bit more extreme left or right, but if it becomes too shrill, then the undecided voters can be pushed away from you."
Joan Costello, a human resources manager, doesn't remember a lot about the same week four years ago, but she's clear on one thing.
"It just wasn't as in your face as it is this year," said Costello, 44, of suburban Columbus. She plans to vote for Kerry.
"It's time," Costello said. "Let's get to voting and get this over with. So often the campaigning's about a lot of talk and not a lot of doing. So we need some doing."
