Toledo, My Home Town

My eye was caught by this story in the Washington Post about the amount of money spent on television advertising in my home town of Toledo.

Walking into the Lucas County courthouse on a sunny fall afternoon, James King, 64, an executive with a health management company, offered the jaded view. "We're kind of sick of them," he said. "It seems like they've been going on forever. I really think it's turning everyone off. When you see as many negative ads as we've seen, you have to believe that it's turning more people off than getting people excited about the election."

King described himself as "a ticked-off conservative" who is leaning toward Kerry. But his choice wasn't shaped by any messages he has picked up from a few thousand political ads. "I'm alarmed at what has happened to the conservative agenda under this president," he said. "The deficit is a disaster. I deplore this war. The government has gotten bigger, not smaller. [Bush] has injured the party and its ideals."

These comments are the type that lift my spirits somewhat from day to day as regards this presidential campaign. Regardless of the closeness in the polls, I can't help but think that there are more Republicans turned off by Bush than there are Democrats turned off by Kerry.