Pale Blue And Tense

Columbus, Ohio

Campaigning in Ohio isn’t for the faint of heart.

Message to McCain: He that troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind. (Proverbs)

Though it has been a good week for Obama nationally and polls show him, remarkably, ahead in four of five battleground states (Ohio, Florida, Missouri and Virginia) and tied in North Carolina, Ohio’s shade of blue is too pale for comfort.

The latest Marist poll has it 49-45 for Obama here while Rassmussen makes it Obama, 49-47. In and of themselves, it’s arguable that such margins would withstand a eighth inning charge by McCain, should it occur.

Meanwhile, Truthout reports that Republicans are doing what they can to disenfranchise likely Obama voters. [When McCain talks about his “League of Democracies,” why doesn’t he include Ohio?] The latest moves here include lawsuits that invoke the specter of voting fraud.

Ohio’s weeklong period in which new voters can register and immediately cast a ballot was ripe for voting fraud, the Rs say. The state’s method of verifying voter registration information? Insufficient, they claim.

Voter fraud was a buzz phrase for the Ohio GOP when it pushed voter identification requirements through the state Legislature in 2005. It’s now a driving factor behind a flurry of GOP lawsuits leveled against Democratic Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, seeking either to restrict early voting or mandate how voter information should be checked. [Click here for more]

Here on the ground, our schedule is full this week, taking us back to Athens County abutting the Appalachian region of Ohio toward the end of the week. Biden is in the same southeastern region this week, following Obama’s well-received swing last week.

Tonight, Newark, Ohio, and the Licking County Democratic Club.