Ward 62, Columbus Ohio

More news from the battleground state of Ohio, as the Columbus Dispatch visits the bellwether Ward 62 of Columbus Ohio, a ward lost by Gore in 2000 by 12 votes, or .25%.

As reported earlier, Ohio has seen itself left out of the job growth and economic boom much to the chagrin of the Bush campaign.
Some of the more telling quotes(the question was "Is America on the right track or the wrong track?"):

Three stools down, Carl Simpkins, 45, a government worker, sees the country being taken down the wrong track by a president he won't support in November. "The war in Iraq," he said, "is becoming reminiscent of Vietnam. I don't see a decisive plan of action."

In the fight against terrorism, Simpkins said he worries the Bush administration is "trampling on some basic civil rights," and, economically, he frets the United States is losing jobs to overseas competitors.

"If it can be outsourced, it's being outsourced," Simpkins said. "We're going to end up being a country that's not working."

Here's the one that got my ire up:

Relaxing at a patio table, John Davis, 44, a drugstore manager, said he plans to vote for Bush. His fiancee, Carol Frank, 50, a worker's compensation consultant, said she is undecided but lauded Bush for "pulling us together as a nation" after the Sept. 11 terrorist attack.

I know some have made this point already, but 9/11 was almost three years ago. If that is the only thing that you can point to that Bush has done that you like, perhaps you should wonder if there might be something to that. Perhaps that means that all the other policy choices are disagreeable to you. Perhaps you should look at the lack of job growth around you(referring to Ohio) as a sign of what he's done to "pull us together." Look at the mad derision this "compassionate conservative" has created in the public, and tell me how he "pulled us together."

ANY president would have had the same stance after 9/11. No one in their right mind can think, if Gore was elected, that he would have stood on the rubble and said, "You know, they got us. They got us good. I don't see how we recover from this one. I've already been in contact with the Taliban to surrender American soil and values to them. Praise Allah." It simply was not going to happen.

There probably wouldn't have been a rush to war on some Hollywood inspired revenge kick, with the supposed witty bon mots ("Bring it on") and the total lack of support from most of the world. And obviously if I feel this strongly, he hasn't brought anyone together.

I hear no optimism in his voice when it comes to America, just a man that has run out of ideas. This is a man whose foreign policy is now triumphant because of one UN vote. This is a man who claims we are winning the war on terror despite numbers to the contrary. This is a man whose can lead only those who agree with him and is unable to rally any kind of support from those who do not.

I think this is one of those cases where Bush has become so headstrong he has forgotten to listen to reason. And that is why I think, ultimately, we will see President Kerry in November.