Rather Be Free
columnist: DigitalBob

Topic: Presidential Campaign 2008
Counting Yard Signs in Southwest Michigan

---

Since everyone is following polls for this Presidential election, I thought I'd run my own. I am flagrantly biased towards Ron Paul.

---

by DigitalBob
(Libertarian)
Monday, January 14, 2008

If you're a regular reader of the Nolan Chart, you might have known that I was out of the country last week. I'll comment about some of those things later. But for now, I'm glad to be back in the USA, back in my Michigan home.

I had some business today (1/13/08)  in South Bend, Indiana and had to meet some family in Stevensville, Michigan. Along the way, I counted a few yard signs.

During my unscientific poll, I counted 8 signs for McCain, 7 for Ron Paul and one for Mitt Romney. This is Sunday, two days before the primary elections on Tuesday. A few months ago, when we had our local city elections, there were dozens of yard signs in the ward, promoting the local favorite or his challenger for city council. I don't see that same enthusiasm for the Presidential Primary.

I live on the Michigan/Indiana state line. We get the South Bend Tribune, which makes sense, since South Bend, Indiana is the biggest city near here. Lou Mumford's article hits it right on the head. I don't think most voters are even paying attention to the election here. When Michigan moved its primary to Jan. 15, it lost all its delegates to the Democratic convention and half of those to the Republican one. Dennis Kucinich is clueless. He is making appearances in Michigan, but will get no delegates in this state--even if he gets first place on Tuesday. This proves he is more concerned about getting his message out than getting elected.

There are no yards signs for the Democrats. When I looked for bumper stickers in a local grocery store parking lot, I saw one "W4" and another Kerry/Edwards--both from 2004.  I saw one with an Obama sticker.

The big article in the local newspaper was Romney's visit in St. Joseph--about 30 miles north of the state line. Mitt Romney's father ran for President in the 1960s against Richard Nixon. The older Romney was president of American Motors and governor of Michigan. I think Mitt Romney has the most to lose here, since this was his home before moving to Massachusetts. I found this Youtube video where a Ron Paul sign holder showed up to a Romney rally at Lawrence Tech in Southfield last week.

John McCain has been pretty active here in Michigan. He's going to be in Kalamazoo tomorrow, according to WSBT-TV. Romney, Huckabee and Hunter will also be in Michigan tomorrow.

While I was out of town, my wife got a call from a Ron Paul worker. She said it was ok for a yard sign to be planted while I was gone. I'm sure they got my name off a list of donors. Within three blocks, there were one McCain sign and three Ron Paul signs. I know the guy with the McCain sign. He's a wounded Vietnam vet who puts up a different state flag each day, right under the USA flag. I wave hi to him when I walk my dog. Around town, several of the McCain signs were planted on commercial sites, those that also had FOR SALE or FOR LEASE on them. With the way the economy is going here in Michigan, you see a lot of For Sale signs in front of businesses.  I don't know who Mr. Sale is, but he's the most popular candidate.

So for Berrien county, I think it's going to be close, between McCain and Paul, with Romney not far behind.  That's if you  believe my polling method.  I could be off by a little.

There are a lot of folks over 50 who remember that Romney's dad was governor. Huckabee and McCain make the news, due to their performances in the Iowa and New Hampshire primaries. The other candidates have been nearly invisible on local TV. Giuliani made a little news when he moved his offices out of the state prior to the election. You get no delegates here if you finish second or lower.  I'm guessing that Huckabee and Thompson are dueling for South Carolina. Hunter must have had a couple trips left on his frequent flyer miles.  His chances are between slim and none.

Ron Paul is spending the next couple days in Nevada and South Carolina.  However, his supporters have been holding rallies without him--in front of factories and on college campuses.  If Ron Paul plans to capture Michigan, it's now in the hands of the grassroots.

I have to travel this week for family reasons. I sent in my absent voter ballot a few weeks ago. While I'm gone, maybe my neighbors will look at the sign in my yard and come to their senses. We got to get out of Iraq and start taking care of the problems here at home. The other candidates will bankrupt us with this century's version of Guns and Butter.  McCain's promises of more job training rings hollow when there are no jobs.  Romney says he knows how to run a business.  He's welcome to try and start one here.  We could have used the millions that's he's poured into his campaign.

For all the economic problems this state is having, I had hoped there would have been more national attention. But when Michigan is only getting 30 out of 2,380 delegates in the Republican convention and none in the Democratic, what should we expect?

Did you like this article?
If you did, Thumb It!
43 thumbs so far

2008 DigitalBob, all rights reserved.
Published: Monday, January 14, 2008
Last modified: Monday, January 14, 2008

The views expressed in this article are those of DigitalBob only and do not represent the views of Nolan Chart, LLC or its affiliates. DigitalBob is solely responsible for the contents of this article and is not an employee or otherwise affiliated with Nolan Chart, LLC in his/her role as a columnist.

Report violation by DigitalBob of Nolan Chart LLC's terms of use policy.