The Primaries: Ohio Still Matters

I’ve written a few blog entries outlining my displeasure with part of the election process. Some of it has centered on the primaries and the fact that the media seemed to think the Democratic candidate would be decided at the Iowa caucuses. Then the media said that if it wasn’t decided at the Iowa caucus, that Super Duper Tuesday would seal the deal.

Here we are, just a short time away from March 4 and the Ohio and Texas primaries, and there still isn’t a definitive candidate for the Democratic Party. They’re getting closer, mind you, but it’s still not decided yet.

The media’s wish to minimize the importance of the entire primary process has failed. Ohio still lives. In fact, the Democratic debate in Cleveland, Ohio that is occurring tonight – February 26 – is being billed as the most important debate for the Democratic primary. Why? Because the previous primaries failed to bring on a clear winner, with both candidates not having enough elected delegates to win the nomination. The primaries for Ohio, and of course Texas, will probably make things a lot clearer, with a lot of delegates at stake.

The one thing that still disturbs me is the media’s continued reporting of poll numbers, which as we all know, have not always been a clear representation of reality. My opinion is that the media is more interested in influencing the outcome of the election, rather than reporting hard facts. Save the poll numbers for the people running the campaigns so they know what they are up against. But the poll numbers themselves, while they may be considered a fact as reported by the pollster, may not be reflective of reality, as they often poll only a small sampling of the total voting block.

Another thing that stumps me. I have received three phone messages from Hillary Clinton’s campaign (all pre-recorded of course, two of which were from Hillary) and several mailings from Clinton’s campaign. What I don’t understand is I haven’t received word one from Barack Obama’s campaign. Seeing that Obama has reportedly raised so much more money than the Clinton, I am a little perplexed as to why I have been ignored. As a matter of fact, no one else that I know here in northeast Ohio has received anything from Obama’s campaign either. Does that mean that the Obama campaign feels so assured of themselves that they don’t think they need to work for my vote? I am not sure of the reasons but I would like to feel like they think my vote is important to them.

I haven’t decided as yet how I am going to vote in the Ohio primary. I’m very close to deciding, and hopefully the debate in Cleveland will help me in that regard. One thing is for sure – it’s nice that I feel like my vote is important again.



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