Bring Ohio Back

A new left-leaning special-interest group has been formed to campaign against President Bush, specifically targeting Northeast Ohio. The group is called Bring Ohio Back or BOB and it will fund grassroots campaigns and political commercials.

The group's honorary co-chairs are actors Chad Lowe and Fisher Stevens, who plan to use their entertainment industry connections to bring actors, musicians and comedians to Ohio to raise money, knock on doors, greet voters at fairs, and possibly appear in political ads.

Actor Martin Sheen, a Dayton native, is scheduled to arrive Aug. 14 in Northeast Ohio to raise money for BOB. Organizations such as BOB have been formed to receive and distribute soft contributions from wealthy donors. New federal campaign finance laws prohibit political parties from accepting unlimited contributions.

"Considering the cast of characters involved, the evidence continues to mount that this group is part of a long list of Kerry campaign shadow organizations that are using soft money to supplement his campaign," said Kevin Madden, a Bush campaign spokesman.

"As far as their message: It's the same tired song and dance. The John Kerry celebrity set parachutes in from out of town and bad-mouths Ohio's economy, preaching doom and gloom, and they think that that anger can serve as an agenda."

I've got to agree with Mr. Madden. The past several months of campaigning by the Democrats has been more than I need. They have pounded on the economy, jobs, and tax cuts for the rich. They've hammered Bush relentlessly with ads about Halliburton and oil, about lying, and about America's tarnished stature with respect to world opinion. Everything is absolutely negative and, based upon my reading, largely false.

Republican ads have been better but they, too, have their moments going negative. They pound away at Kerry's liberalism and inability to give an answer without changing it. Even so, the bulk of the Republican messages I've seen has been positive.

Although there's still about 15 weeks until the election, I've pretty much made up my mind on how I'll vote, barring a force majeure. Know one thing for sure, I'm already sick of hearing "I approve this message."