In 2004,
Ken Blackwell was Ohio's
Secretary of State, which in
Ohio makes him the state's top
election official. Blackwell's career was one of unrelenting
partisanship mixed with two cups of contempt. In 2004 he was also the Chair of the Ohio campaign to re-elect
George W. Bush.
My neighborhood is mostly modest single family homes, most under 1,000 square feet, which is quite small by American standards. It's mostly white but integrating, and considered working class economically. It's the sort of neighborhood carried by people like Ronald Reagan but leans Democratic. 2004 was supposed to be a close election, and it was. There were two voting machines in my precinct, and even though I got to the polls about two in the afternoon, I had to wait in line for three hours to cast my vote.
Today, I left for the polls after work. I took a book with me to occupy me while I waited in line. But in 2008, the Secretary of State is Jennifer Brunner, a Democrat. Today there were ten voting machines, and there was no waiting at all. The number of poll workers had tripled, and just in case you think it was a slow day, all the machines were in constant use. I didn't get to read my book, which does not displease me. I like Braunbeck, but he's much more enjoyably read from my couch.
More importantly, as i write this it appears that Ohio has chosen Barack Obama by numbers much larger than the polls indicated. I think that for the first time in too long, we may have a President who uses his brain.
Yeeeeee-fucking ha!