Ohio Indicates How Evenly Divided Country Is

Politically, Ohio, which was in recent decades dominated by the Republicans until last year's midterm elections, is a perennial swing state in presidential polling. But Ohio almost always supports the winning presidential candidates. (See here.)

Two recent polls taken among Ohio voters demonstrates that the state is neither Red or Blue, reflecting the divisions in the country and possibly foreshadowing another close presidential election in 2008.

An Ohio Poll shows Ohio voters almost equally divided in all their perceptions of the war in Iraq:

The poll included phone interviews with Ohio registered voters between Oct. 19 and Oct. 31. Some of the results:

• 46 percent said the war was going "very well" or "fairly well," and 53 percent said it was going "not too well" or "not at all well." Of those, 75 percent of Democrats expressed negative opinions on the war, compared to 30 percent of Republicans.
• 47 percent said the United States made the right decision in invading Iraq, 51 percent said it was the wrong decision and 1 percent had no opinion. Of the total, 77 percent of Republicans thought military action was the right decision, compared to 21 percent of Democrats.
• 50 percent thought troops should be brought home as soon as possible and 48 percent thought troops should stay until the situation is stabilized. Of those, 76 percent of Republicans thought the military should stay until conditions become more stable, versus 22 percent of Democrats.

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It's as if people living next door to each other are watching completely different newscasts and reading different papers and news magazines and blogs. They may well be, since increasingly people seem to be only paying attention to those who deliver the news according to their preconceived notions.

A Quinnipiac Poll shows that Rudy Giuliani and Hillary Clinton, the presumptive frontrunners of their respective parties are virtually tied in Ohio:

The Quinnipiac Poll, which surveyed 1,231 Ohio voters between Nov. 6-11, showed Clinton with 44% support and with Giuliani 43%. That is an improvement for the former New York City mayor, who trailed Clinton in Ohio by six percentage points in an October Quinnipiac Poll.

But this may be the more interesting result of the latter poll:

• 46% of married Ohio women say they would never vote for Clinton.

• Meanwhile, 46% of single women say they'd never vote for Guiliani.

What that means, I don't know. Any impressions?

By the way, in the Quinnipiac Poll, John Edwards does a lot better against Clinton.