We Ohioans are known as a very friendly, amicable, cordial bunch. When we move to other parts of the country, many decide to come back and say that the folks in _______ just weren't really all that friendly. My city, Columbus, the state capitol, has grown from a cow town to the biggest and most energized city in the state. Our metropolitan area has close to two million people, but we have retained that Ohio mien of niceness. We still smile at one another whether we know each other or not. We go around saying "hi, how're ya doing" to whoever we meet. We do it because we know that those are the kinds of niceties that make life more bearable and we do it because it's our tradition. And we do it just because.
Here in Ohio, we have awakened over the past 10 years or so to the fact that every four years we are going to be under the national microscope about who we are going to vote for. Why? Well, we are the quintessential swing state. Ohio became that way because we are completely divided as to our political loyalties. One election cycle we might vote all the bums out and put in the other party, or in another year the pendulum will swing back the other way. We have party loyalists and even party freaks on both sides of the aisle, but neither party gets a permanent toehold on power.