Obama campaign urged to come to W.Va.
VP candidate Biden in Marietta TuesdayBy JESS MANCINI,jmancini@newsandsentinel.com
PARKERSBURG - Democratic Party officers Sunday said they remain hopeful either Barack Obama or running mate Joe Biden will campaign in West Virginia before the Nov. 4 general election.
Once written off by Obama, the polls are showing the Illinois senator has closed the gap between he and Republican John McCain in West Virginia and now leads here, said Tom Vogel, executive director of the West Virginia Democratic Party. Given the error factor, the state with its five electoral votes could be a toss up, he said.
''We keep asking them to come,'' Vogel said.
The campaign says a visit is planned in West Virginia, ''we just don't know when that is,'' he said.
Biden, a senator from Delaware, will be just across the Ohio River in Marietta at 7:15 p.m. Tuesday in an outdoor rally at Armory Square at the old Ohio National Guard Arnory on Front Street, the last stop in a three-city campaign tour in Ohio. Gates open at 5:30 for the free rally and admittance is first-come, first-serve,.
On Sunday, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, drove through Marietta on her way from Gallipolis to another campaign rally in St. Clairsville. She briefly stopped at a market and bought apple cider.
Walt Auvil, the chairman of the Wood County Democratic Party, hopes Obama or Biden will come to Parkersburg and Wood County. The Obama campaign can kill two birds with one stone in Parkersburg, Huntington or Wheeling because the media markets are both West Virginia and Ohio, Auvil said. Ohio is targeted as a key state by Obama and Republican nominee John McCain,
The media factor is three states in Wheeling, he said.
''To me, that's logical,'' Auvil said.
The same is true in Martinsburg, except the Obama campaign there can also help Democrat Ann Barth, who is running against incumbent Republican Shelley Capito in West Virginia's 2nd Congressional District.
''You can get a ''two-fer'' up there,'' Auvil said.
Both Auvil and Vogel have made requests to the Obama campaign to come to Wood County and West Virginia.
The situation has changed in West Virginia because of the recent turmoil in the economy and the stock market, Vogel said. Obama has taken the lead in West Virginia according to the polls, Vogel said.
''We believe we're up,'' he said.
A poll by the American Research Group shows Obama leading McCain by 8 points, 50 percent to 42 percent of voters.
In Ohio, ARG says Obama leads McCain 48 percent to 45 percent.
West Virginia was a player in the 2000 and 2004 elections because of how close the campaigns were. The state voted for President George W. Bush in both elections.
Ohio has voted for the winner in the last 11 elections. John F. Kennedy lost the state in 1960, but beat Richard Nixon across the country.
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thatsjustme
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10-16-08 10:05 PM
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Dilli, Responding to: "Obama don't care about the middle class white man" Do you think Doofus did? Do you think McCain does? I want to know if McCain cares about middle class purple people. Or middle class Italians. Or middle class morons. McCain=Bush Obama/Biden 08
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IsItJustMe
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10-14-08 12:05 AM
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BfromWV and Concernedcitizen...you got it right, use rational thinking when voting. Not voting for a candidate because of anything but the issues is just ignorant. I grew up in Parkersburg and I am now in the Diplomatic Corps. It pains me to hear all the insults aimed at West Virginians...but, during the primaries, the views expressed in the media by some of the state's residents, were shocking and opened my eyes to what generates the view that the rest of the US has of the Mountain state. Vote issues...not color, religion or a name of an idividual.
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concernedcitizen
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10-13-08 12:10 PM
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Thank you BfromWV. It is so wonderful to hear rational opinion. I can't understand West Virginia's recent voting record. As a daughter and grand-daughter of West Virginia union workers, it disappoints me to see so many people in this state mindlessly throw away everything West Virginians have worked so hard for.
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BfromWV
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10-13-08 11:23 AM
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I pride myself on being able to think for myself. I know what my values are and what I believe in. I believe in God just like a lot of people but I won't let my pastor tell me who to vote for. WV is made up of a lot of middle to low income people I can't imagine they wouldn't like to have a better opportunity for healthcare and lower taxes. At the end of the day we all live with the choices we make in our lives right or wrong.
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Lizzard
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10-13-08 10:49 AM
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Actually, aside from ascribing to that ignorant, inexplicable "union says to vote for a democrat" mentality, West Virginians seem to possess rather conservative values. I suspect quite a lot of West Virginians couldn't possibly support Joe-bama.
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BfromWV
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10-13-08 10:36 AM
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Unfornately we won't have the opportunity to see Joe Biden or Barak Obama because for some crazy reason WV has become a red state which I find pretty embarrassing. Since WV fits most all the dynamics to be a blue state. Just makes you wonder what people were thinking the last two presidential elections. All I can say is it wasn't me.
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DILLIGAS
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10-13-08 7:41 AM
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Good Luck, Obama don't care about the middle class white man, which covers the majority of West Virginians.
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