What Women Want…in Ohio

As of 2006, a little more than half of the Ohio population is female, a fact that really isn’t too interesting or notable except when we remember (did we ever forget?) that Ohio is the swingiest of the swing states right now. Consequently, every detail counts when it comes to analyzing the demographics of the state. Reporter for The Plain Dealer Karen Sandstrom asked women voters to share what they really want when it comes to the election. Typical issues like the economy and the war dominate their commentary, which leads me to my next question–what do we accomplish by focusing on groups like “women” (which, I would also argue, is not as specific as it wants to be)? What we learn here is that these women have the same interests as the general population. Take this tidbit for example:

“The war also looms for women whose concerns about international politics include the perception that the United States has squandered the good will of American allies. Sue Kaiser believes the U.S. has “totally alienated” much of the rest of the world in recent years.”

The war looms for women? Does it intentionally bypass men? Why should we box people into little squares of identity and act like they must inherently have a vested and passionate interest in something just because they’re women, or black, or from Ohio, or a black woman from Ohio. Sure we can learn from it, but acting like basic facets of our identities is all that matters is extremely limiting. What gives? Think about it.

It IS all about Ohio! Thanks Politico.com!

My current favorite news source and online distraction, Politico.com, just made my day with an article headlined “Candidates’ Travels Show It’s All About Ohio” which is completely true. It’s all about Ohio for a number of reasons, including their 20 Electoral College votes and proven history as what Politico’s Carrie Budoff Brown calls “a Republican must-win” since no Republican president has never NOT won Ohio. Can we take a moment and acknowledge how huge this is??? This is why Ohio tops both of Obama and McCain’s most traveled lists and why it will continue to get a great deal of attention from the campaigns and from the media. Frankly, I think that key swing states like Ohio could stand to get even more VIP treatment (as much as I hate to say it, that is a problematic effect of the Electoral College) from the candidates. I recently spent a good chunk of time examining the rights and the wrongs of the Obama campaign, and it irks me to see his team spending so much money in Indiana of all places. Indiana? Really? Don’t waste your time and money–it’s crunch time and that means it’s swing state time and Obama needs to cover as much Ohio territory (and that of other swing states like Pennsylvania) as much as he can before he spends any more energy on all-but-assured red states like Indiana. It’s the cold, hard truth of the Electoral College and it’s the game that we have to play, but so be it.

Let’s play.