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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 4, 2004)
Oregon volleyball wins its first conference match in two years \ 7 An independent newspaper wunv. dailyemerald. com Since 1900 | Volume 106, Issue 271 Monday, October 4, 2004 Swing states vs. NON-SWING STATES The airwaves are saturated with a greater number of political ads tailored specifically to a state's most prominent issues. Larger voter registration efforts and more attention is paid to what local issues matter most to citizens More money is spent on campaigning by candidates and outside interest groups. Candidate visits and personal appearances increase as election time approaches. ★ AMERICA VOTES 2004 ★ Portrait of a swing State BY MEGHANN M. CUNIFF NEWS REPORTER There’s a logical explanation why Oregon seems to have more than its share of presidential campaign ing this election season, and it has to do with the citizens’ indecisiveness. In Oregon, the number of Sen. John Kerry and President George W. Bush supporters appears al most dead even. So dead even that it has been called a 'swing state' — a state where no candidate has the assured sup port of the majority; opinion swings from one side to the other. “Swing states are where the fight is,” University Political Science Professor and survey^ researcher Joel Bloom said. “It's not the same campaign na tionally as it is in the swing states. ” Because the country's voting system is the winner-takes-all Electoral College— which allots all of a state's electoral votes to whoever wins the popular vote no matter how razor-thin the margin — it is crucial that candidates focus their W campaigns in those states where no candidate has a clear advantage, Bloom said. In an election this close, “it makes no sense at all for a candidate to spend time in a state that's not a swing state,” Bloom said. States with a clearly dominant party are virtually removed from a campaign radar screen because of the unlikeness i of anything swaying the large number of voters that have already decided to i support a particular candidate, Bloom ] added. | Bloom, who is teaching a political sci- 1 ence course examining campaigns and elections this term, said while there l is no formal . Si Bret Furtwangler | Graphics editor A swing state is a state where political affiliations are not distinctly cemented - they can swingfrom one candidate to another. In many counties in Oregon, the margin of difference between registered republicans and registered democrats is razor thin, making it difficult to predict election results. Dark red - registered republicans outnumber registered democrats by more than nine percent. Dark blue - registered democrats outnumber registered republicans by more than nine percent. Light red - registered republicans outnumber registered democrats by less than nine percent. Light blue - registered democrats outnumber registered republicans by less than nine percent. The predominantly democratic counties are usually more populated than the predominantly republican counties. nethod for determining which states ire swing states, the most common nvolve examining statewide opinion )olls, political party registration num )ers and the results of previous elec ions. Some polling agencies use different echniques to gather data, but Leighton Woodhouse, co-director of the national voter registration or } ganization Driving Votes, said there is a general consensus among most groups regarding about 75 percent of the states typically thought of as swing states. work in Oregon organizing voter registration efforts, said the difference between a swing state campaign and a non-swing state campaign is noticeable in nearly every aspect of the campaign. Woodhouse said he saw first hand how quiet campaigning is in a state where party affiliations are more distinct and cemented in place because of the solid lead Ker ry has held in California since the beginning of the campaign. “There's no campaigning; there's no major voter registration or SWING, page 4 Republican “By and large, it's a judgment Leaning call,” Woodhouse Republican said. Democratic Leaning Democratic Woodhouse, who lives in Cali fornia but has rlnnp PYtpnciwp 'Magic' donation supports academics The $2.5 million gift from alumnus Dave Petrone funds scholarships and renovations BY JARED PABEN NEWS EDITOR The University will permanently fund the sports marketing department, move forward on the first phase of a new med ical research center and take one big step toward building a three-story addition to Condon Hall, thanks in part to a $2.5 mil lion donation by a University alumnus and his wife. University 1968 economics graduate Dave Petrone and his wife, Nancy, both re ceived two standing ovations Friday at a reception announcing the couple’s gift. The reception was held in Condon Hall 204, one of the rooms that will be renovat ed with the money to provide new labora tory space. The building is home to the an thropology, environmental studies and geography departments. In a sometimes tearful address to a full room, Petrone said the couple felt GIFP page 6 Lauren Wimer | Senior photographer Hundreds of people turned out to see former Vermont governor Howard Dean speak on behalf of presidential candidate John Kerry in the EMU Amphitheater on Friday afternoon. photograph; K Pre-journalism major Amelie Matier has Howard Dean sign her shirt after his speech in the EMU Amphitheater on Friday. The event drew close to 1,000 students and community members. Dean fires up crowd in campus visit denouncing Bush Touting a vote for Kerry, former Vermont governor Howard Dean calls the Bush administration 'a group of extremist radicals' BY PARKER HOWELL SENIOR NEWS REPORTER Former Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean spoke to a sprawling crowd in the EMU Amphitheater Friday afternoon, crit icizing President Bush’s war in Iraq and his economic policy during a rally for Democratic nominee Sen. John Kerry. During his address, Dean lent his support to Kerry and encouraged University students to not only vote, but to become actively in volved with local political campaigns. “Voting gets you a ‘D’ — I want you to run for office,” Dean said. He also said Bush has not prioritized fund ing for education. “We can’t afford to cut the Pell Grant in or der to give people who make a million dollars a year their tax credits,” Dean said. Dean identified health care as another key issue for students. “We need a system of health care for every single American,” he said. “John Kerry will do that, and George Bush won’t.” The rally drew a massive and boisterous crowd, with students and University commu nity members filling the amphitheater, sprawling onto the EMU balcony overlooking the venue and sitting in the bushes near the stage for a chance to see Dean. Dean attended the rally as part of a three campus swing through Oregon on Friday that later took him through Oregon State Universi ty and Portland State University. Calling the current administration a “group of extremist radicals,” Dean challenged Presi dent Bush’s record on the war in Iraq and the economy. Dean criticized Bush for misleading the country about the intelligence used to present a case for the war in Iraq. “We want a president who will stand up for America, but who will tell the truth,” he said. He denounced Bush’s use of the military as well, saying he hasn’t listened to advisers who cautioned him to send more troops to Iraq. “George Bush can’t manage the military when he doesn’t listen to them,” Dean said. Dean also reprimanded the president for his tax cuts, saying they don’t benefit students. “I’d like a president who cares about giving tax cuts to people like you rather than people like me,” he said. He said Kerry will be more fiscally responsi ble than Bush by creating a balanced budget. “I’m voting for John Kerry because we can trust him with our money,” he said. He added that electing Kerry is the first step to preventing "a group of radicals” from tak ing over “the greatest country on Earth.” “We’re going to take this country back for the people who built it, and that’s us,” Dean said. . DEAN, page 5 HOWARD DEAN EMPHASIZES IMPORTANCE OF YOUNG VOTERS In an exclusive interview with the Oregon Daily Emer ald before Friday's rally, former Democratic presidential hopeful Howard Dean discussed his message for college students. Dean emphasized the importance of young voters in the election, saying the potential for youth voters to sway the election prompted his collegiate tour. "I think John Kerry can win here,” Dean said. “I think the youth vote, the student vote, is going to be very im portant. If we get a big turnout among young people, John Kerry is going to be the next president.” Dean also stressed the possibility of a new military draft as a key issue for students. Dean, who served in Vietnam during the time of the draft, said he would not want today's students to be subjected to a draft. “It’s likely that George Bush will have a draft if he is DEAN, page 5
