WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 12: Mayor Michael Coleman of Columbus, Ohio speaks to members of the media outside the West Wing during a news briefing after a meeting with President Barack Obama at the White House December 12, 2012 in Washington, DC. President Obama held a meeting and a conference call with a bipartisan group of mayors and community leaders to discuss his proposals in the fiscal cliff negotiations.
Columbus, Ohio: Welcome to the United States of Ohio,'' she said and smiled. Julianne Williams, a young voter in Columbus, Ohio's capital, is right. If you are anywhere in Ohio or are following television where you are constantly bombarded by ads promoting the two candidates in the US presidential elections, you can't be blamed if you think the entire election is about Ohio.
At the Sheraton Hotel in Columbus, an entire wall is dedicated to emphasising Ohio's umbilical cord with White House. 'The Mother of Presidents', it says, pointing out that eight American Presidents have called Ohio their home, the most from any state in the country.
It is insulting that we are the centre of all attention only in the last six months,'' says Alex Fischer, CEO of Columbus 2020, an investment promotion agency. Where the hell were they the last three and a half years? Now they are here all the time, clogging our airwaves and roads.''
Karen Redelberger, a mother of two boys and a marketing professional, however prefers to see the brighter side of this political desperation to win Ohio. It means we are that important, that we have influence. Come election season, we are on America's map. On the radar as it were.''
Columbus: Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is promoting newfound enthusiasm for his candidacy as President Barack Obama highlights the success of American automakers in the wake of a government bailout. Both men are preparing for their second debate, set for Tuesday in New York.
Obama was hunkering down on Saturday in Virginia to go over the game plan for the town-hall style debate with Romney. But his weekly official radio address spoke of an industry that's critical to Ohio, another battleground state and perhaps the most important to his Republican opponent's White House hopes.
Columbus: President Barack Obama's re-election campaign on Tuesday filed a federal lawsuit against Ohio's top elections official in a dispute over the battleground state's law that restricts early, in-person voting during the three days before Election Day.
The lawsuit filed in Columbus comes after a series of election law changes cleared the state's Republican-controlled Legislature and were signed by Republican Gov John Kasich.
