Early prediction: Romney will win Ohio

With apologies to Thomas Suddes, the Cleveland Plain Dealer’s and Columbus Dispatch’s fine columnist and who is considered to be an expert on Ohio politics, I will go out on a limb at this point and make a prediction.

Ahem.

Mitt Romney will win Ohio.

Suddes wrote last week that he believed President Barack Obama could take Ohio with strong showings in Franklin County and in counties that are home to our major universities. He noted that Catholics might not be as enamored with Obama as they were four years ago but figures that blue collar and union voters are in Obama’s court because of his defense of the American automobile business.

That gives Obama northern Ohio but not necessarily central Ohio where Romney and Obama have spent and will spend considerable time during the campaign.

Suddes also pointed out that Obama defeated John McCain by 262,000 votes in 2008 and that George Bush beat John Kerry by 119,000 votes in 2004.

When you’re talking about roughly 5.5 million voters in Ohio, those aren’t big numbers. And consider this: Ohioans gave Jimmy Carter the boot in favor of Ronald Reagan by 454,131 votes in 1980.

I have no science behind my thinking, but I do have my hearing aids turned up. And the general sense I get from talking to the folks who last time voted for Obama is that they’re plenty disappointed in the current state of things.

No, they don’t want to play golf with Romney or drink a beer with him. He’s not Reagan, or Bill Clinton for that matter. But he does offer the alternative along with a promise to fire the Treasury Secretary Ben Bernanke and do away with what has come to be known as Obamacare.

And business people, health care administrators and physicians hate – and I mean hate – Obamacare. A couple of friends who serve on hospital boards in Ohio and elsewhere contend that Obamacare will be a big factor in the demise of small, locally controlled hospitals.

So, I contend the final county-by-county map will be colored red and blue in almost the identical way the Bush-Kerry map was in 2004. That means Tuscarawas County moves to Romney in 2012 after giving the nod to Obama in 2008. Holmes County remains a solid Republican stronghold.

(Disclaimer: I withdraw my prediction if Romney continues to say dumb things on the campaign trail. He has enough time to overcome September gaffes, but his October musings might do him in.)

Suddes, incidentally, labeled Tuscarawas County a “Catholic county.” I’m not sure where he got that. The county has a significant number of Catholics, but certainly they do not represent a majority of churchgoers.

***

Life is full of unintended consequences. One of them is the proliferation of political yard signs that have been planted in lawns and fields throughout the Tuscarawas Valley.

I’m told we are seeing the signs earlier and earlier because of early voting.

Do you get it? The election is no longer in November. It’s in October now. All of October.

So the signs – because they are more important to a campaign than anything else – have to be in the yards early so they can convince people to vote for a particular candidate. You know, I’ve always voted for the candidate with the most political yard signs. How about you?

Who said fall is the most beautiful time of year?

***

Speaking of proliferation, how about all those robo calls to the Do-Not-Call landline phone line?

Here is a list of calls I received one day last week, according to my caller ID: Toll Free 866-611-4385; Lower Interest 360-474-3901; Lower Interest 971-220-1787; Wireless Caller 330-289-3307.

Those calls were received in a 10-hour period and do not include two unlisted number calls. Four of those calls came while I was trying to write this commentary.

By the way, I answered the wireless caller call because of the familiar area code and it turned out to be someone from the Sherrod Brown campaign. Now, I can’t even trust wireless callers, so be forewarned.

Follow me on Facebook and Twitter (dfarrell_dover).

Andy Rooney would be proud

People who don’t know me really well would be surprised – because of my outwardly laid-back personality -- that there are things that really annoy me.

Seriously. I can be annoyed.

It’s time for another list.

--It seems that during every televised golf shot in PGA tournaments that some idiot will scream into the field mike: “GET IN THE HOLE!” In case you didn’t know, this is a line uttered by Bill Murray in “Caddyshack,” one of the greatest all-time golf movies and certainly was funny in the context of the film. It is not funny or amusing when you hear it screamed during the U.S. Open, the British Open or any other golf tournament. If they were my golf tournaments, I would ban the phrase and eject any fan using it. Why? Because it’s so darn annoying.

--Facebook users can annoy me especially when he/she replaces his/her profile picture with that of a dog/cat. I mean, come on. I know people love their pets and treat them better -- in some cases -- than their human counterparts, which -- in some cases -- is understandable. But let’s be honest. Your pet is much more important to you than to me. I know this because I’ve seen people walk their pets in Chicago and they go to great extremes to avoid having to interact with someone else’s dog. People are like that. They only care about their own dog/cat.

--Connie Schultz, who is a great columnist and who is married to U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, annoys me because she posts more pictures of her dog, Franklin, on Facebook than any other Facebook pet owner does of his/her dog. And last I counted there was something like a gazillion Facebook users.

--People who think I don’t like dogs annoy me.

--In this day and age of GPS devices, I am annoyed by cab drivers who ask me for directions.

--Servers who want to wow you with their memory ability by not writing down the order annoy me when they bring the wrong stuff.

--Lousy tippers annoy me especially when I happen to be with them. This doesn’t happen very often.

--I annoy me when I realize later that I didn’t tip enough. I lose sleep over such things.

--Motorists who won’t let me in their lane when clearly it wasn’t my fault that there’s an accident 500 feet ahead in my lane really annoy me.

--People texting and driving really annoy me. I can live with the cell phone talkers, but the texters… get ‘em outta here.

--Reporters who shove a microphone in front of a grieving family member or friend and then ask some version of “How do you feel?” really, really annoy me.

--People who dress inappropriately for the occasion annoy me and, yes, I’m even talking about those meaningless little visits to a certain big box store. Oh my goodness.

--Uninformed people annoy me. Those include people who unknowingly reveal in the course of conversation that they will vote the way they will because they are, in fact, racists. People who read this column in whatever form obviously are exempted from the annoyance. My readers would never do that.

--People who wear their politics and/or religion on their sleeve annoy me. I’m not talking about those people who might display a bumper sticker on their car. I’m talking about the “in your face” type of people who think they’re right and you’re stupid. Certainly I could write endorsement editorials for either Obama or Romney and be darn convincing if I say so myself. Please keep an open mind.

Follow me on Facebook and Twitter (dfarrell_dover).

Urban legacy: soybeans in curbstrips

At first I thought it was just me, but then an acquaintance brought it up.

“What’s happening in New Philadelphia?” he asked. “Doesn’t anyone care anymore?”

He said he believes there has been a gradual decline in the neighborhoods in the vicinity of New Philadelphia High – overgrown yards, broken sidewalks and houses that appear to have been left in disrepair. A friend, he said, spotted soybeans growing in the curb strip of one home. The drought hasn’t stopped the growth of weeds.

I think one could conclude Dover also has its share of deteriorating neighborhoods, which also happen to be in the vicinity of the city’s high school.

I found no evidence in the media of anyone on either city council getting emotional about this. I mean this should make people angry. I’m talking about a “This is my town!” speech.

(Come to think of it, I don’t remember any council member standing up and delivering a blistering speech on council floor about anything.)

I’ll give props to the folks in Dennison, Uhrichsville and other communities who have acknowledged the existence of dilapidated properties and who have pledged to do something about it.

It’s overdue time for our passive leaders in Dover and New Philadelphia to do the same. Only our property values are at stake.

***

These are good times for owners of TV stations in Ohio.

Political advertising in Ohio’s major TV markets represents millions of dollars of revenue for each station.

Ohioans may not realize it, but most of the country doesn’t get the constant bombardment of political commercials that we do. That’s because, once again, Ohio is the state that could go blue or red on Election Day.

A May 2012 story in USA Today examined the impact of political advertising in Columbus.

“In 2008, Erik Nisbet, an Ohio State communications professor, moved to Columbus from New York, a reliably Democratic state in presidential elections where voters rarely see national political ads,” said the paper.

“At first, he found the barrage of ads fascinating.

“‘I was blown away by the contrast,’ Nisbet said. ‘It was night and day.’

“Four years later, he's come to the conclusion that ‘people tune it out. They all sort of blend together.’”

Even more annoying than the TV commercials are the automated telephone calls, which have prompted at least one household to ignore all incoming calls on the landline. Hopefully, if I’ve won something, they’ll leave a message.

I’ve tuned it out, too. 

***

So, this weekend I’m scheduled to see Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band in Chicago. I related this fact to a class of 6th-graders a week or so ago. I thought they’d be impressed with my youthfulness and hipness.

I received a lot of blank stares.

“You know,” I said, “the Boss.”

Still nothing.

“My goodness,” I thought. “What’s wrong with these children?”

“Bruce Springsteen,” I repeated.

“The Boss! ‘Born in the USA!’ The Boss!”

It was clear that they do not know who this Bruce Springsteen person is.

I’m officially old.

Follow me on Facebook and Twitter (dfarrell_dover).

Glory days are for parents, too

I venture to say that the four years we spend in high school are not the most important years we spend on this earth.

Arguably the formative years – the years when your mother is supposed to love and nurture you – are more important. Or maybe the years after high school, when you start giving back to the community, your state and nation by curing cancer or developing new technologies or righting wrongs.

Or paying taxes.

But high school?  What’s so important about high school that we spend the rest of our lives looking back at those four awkward years that are dominated by fads, cliques and bad hairstyles?

Bruce Springsteen’s “Glory Days,” I think, best sums it up:

“I had a friend, was a big baseball player back in high school

“He could throw that speedball by you

“Make you look like a fool boy

“Saw him the other night at this roadside bar

“I was walking in, he was walking out

“We went back inside sat down had a few drinks but all he kept talking about was

“Glory days, well they’ll pass you by

“Glory days in the wink of a young girl’s eye”

It’s been nearly 12 years since my son played in a Dover Tornadoes football game, yet it seems like only yesterday when the anticipation of a Friday night was the best darn feeling in the world, when the kid ran onto the field wearing his game face, and when he ran off the field after the end of the game in dirt-stained crimson and white – mostly victorious, sometimes beaten.

Man, I miss those days. Glory days.

So, I understand the feeling, parents, and, ahem, I’ve come up with another list:

–Don’t let anyone tell you that sports (and other extracurricular activities) aren’t important in the development of the individual. Sports teach teamwork, goal-setting and responsibility. My son and his former teammates are for the most part very successful in various careers and don’t seem to be burdened by the “Glory Days” syndrome. They are living in the moment.

–I found out early on that my high school athlete did not want to immediately replay the game with his parents after a win or loss. I think it’s safe to say that your high school athlete will prefer friends over parents in the aftermath. It’s nothing personal, mind you.

–Be wary about questioning the coach on his strategy or suggesting that if he’d play your son/daughter more the team would be more successful. Coaching teenagers is one of the hardest jobs on the planet. If you decide to confront the coach, or call him, you do so at your own peril. And your kid’s.

–Stay away from the practice field.

–Don’t discuss individual statistics with your son/daughter as in, “How many passes did you catch?” or “How many points did you score?” Being members of a team, they are learning humility and teamwork. Do not unintentionally encourage bragging.

–Athletes develop certain quirks as part of their preparation process. Treat that tattered T-shirt that he wears underneath his shoulder pads every day with the respect you’d give his Sunday-best white shirt. (Note to parents of middle school players: It’s up to you, Mom and Dad, to make sure the kid remembers to take his football pants to school on the day of the game. Pantless football players are destined to ride the pine.)

–Your student athlete needs to understand the importance of respect for classmates who have interests in other areas, such as the marching band or chess club. And obviously the respect thing works both ways. Most football players are not “dumb jocks.”

–Parents need to help their student athlete keep things in perspective. Losing a high school football game to the arch-rival is not the end of the world. The sun will come up the next day. I’m guaranteeing that.

–Don’t throw short in the flat. If you don’t understand this advice, you should really bone up on your football. Learn the game. By the way, it’s OK if you tell your son not to throw short in the flat.

Enjoy your glory days, parents. Remember, they are gone in the wink of a young girl’s eye.

Follow me on Facebook and Twitter (dfarrell_dover).

Tap, tap, tap: Schools (finally) entering digital age

News flash – Schools throughout the area spent the summer ramping up their wireless networks in an effort to enhance learning sans traditional textbooks.

Now, if you’re a nostalgic, cranky curmudgeon who gets a kick from those e-mails that test your knowledge of the ’50s, you might think that it’s certainly a sign that times are changing and, at least in your mind, certainly not for the better.

Books? How do you get rid of books?

I think the digital initiatives in our schools are long overdue. As an occasional substitute teacher, there were times when I wanted to show students a particular video, or research an issue – the Facebook initial public stock offering, for example – but was blocked by Internet filters that didn’t understand the educational value of certain search terms.

Yes, spending an hour on Facebook has little intrinsic educational value, but the company’s formation and business strategy offer a multitude of lessons.

It’s true the kids are not reading books. Their world – the real world by most standards today – is a digital one. Amazon.com says it is now selling more electronic books for digital readers than the old-fashioned ink-on-paper-bound-by-two-covers kind.

In addition, the banking industry believes that some 40 percent of its customers will use their smartphones to access their account information by next year. And smartphones, which are actually mini-computers that can make phone calls, are carried now by 40 percent of all cellular customers.

It was announced this week that Apple, maker of the ubiquitous iPhone and iPad among other must-have gadgets, was deemed “the world’s most valuable company, ever,” according to a story in the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

Apple’s stock was valued at $623 billion, beating the previous record set by Microsoft.

Yes, it’s time the schools acknowledge the 21st century. I welcome the initiatives.

***

In another week, we’ll have the unofficial end of summer in the form of Labor Day weekend, which marks the unofficial start of the political campaign season.

Do I speak heresy if I claim that this year’s presidential campaign seems fairly tame?

I mean these guys are arguing over tax returns.

You want contentious?

I caught television coverage of the 1972 Democratic political convention while I was working as a hospital orderly on the night shift. I think I was one of the few Americans awake when George McGovern delivered his acceptance speech of the Democratic nomination in the wee hours of the morning. Great strategy there (kidding, of course) and a far cry from the orchestrated speeches delivered now on the convention floor.

After the Democrats battled each other over ideology, McGovern selected Thomas Eagleton as a running mate. Eagleton later withdrew from the race when it was revealed that he suffered from mental illness and had undergone electroshock therapy. Sargent Shriver, a Kennedy brother-in-law, was his replacement.

That didn’t help McGovern, whose credibility had been damaged critically with the Eagleton pick and whose anti-war stance and liberal leanings had split the party faithful.

President Richard Nixon trounced McGovern that November, earning a second term that ended prematurely because of Watergate.

When people talk how mean-spirited the Obama-Romney race has become, perhaps they don’t remember or were alive for the political happenings of the late 1960s and early 1970s.

It was a tough time and split the country along generational lines.

“My fellow Americans, our long national nightmare is over,” President Gerald Ford told the country in 1974.

While the “nightmare” in Ford’s speech was Watergate, I think you could also include three political assassinations and an unwinnable foreign war that claimed the lives of 55,000 Americans.

Throw in race riots, campus unrest and out-of-control inflation for good measure.

Be suspect of those who tell you things have never been worse.

They have.

Follow me on Facebook and Twitter (dfarrell_dover).