http://www.dispatch.com/election/election-president.php?story=dispatch/2004/09/13/20040913-A1-04.htmlKerry must turn region’s downturn into votes
Monday, September 13, 2004
Mark Niquette
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
CLEVELAND — Not long ago, this home of John D. Rockefeller and Drew Carey was calling itself the "comeback city," confident it was no longer the "mistake by the lake," where the government defaulted and the Cuyahoga River burned.
But new homes for the Indians, Browns and Cavaliers in the 1990s, plus the gleaming Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, couldn’t help ease chronic unemployment and other problems that grew worse when the economy slumped and plants closed. <snip>
In this rustiest corner of Rust Belt Ohio, Democratic turnout could decide whether Kerry or Bush carry Ohio — and which man is elected.
"I would argue that northeast Ohio will be the most important region in the state and thus the most important in the country," said Jeff Rusnak, a Democratic consultant in Cleveland. <snip>