Sen. McCain is at Ohio State right now at the LIVESTRONG Summit, hosted by Lance Armstrong:

On Thursday, July 24, at 7 p.m., Senator John McCain will share his cancer plan and answer questions from the audience. Lance Armstrong will moderate the event.

This event was not open to the general public, but I took a few photos of a small demonstration outside (High St.) put on by SEIU and ProgressOhio, to the chants of "John McCain get off our backs, we don't want your health care tax." Nothing too exciting, but for the record:

This is an ongoing series from the national tour for THE UPRISING. You can order The Uprising at Amazon.com or through your local independent bookstore.

LOUISVILLE, KY - I spent yesterday in Ohio's three biggest cities - Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati. With the Buckeye State among the hardest hit by lobbyist-written trade policies, it wasn't surprising that NAFTA was at the center of discussion at events for THE UPRISING in Ohio.

Over the last few years, polls show the public has moved to something of a consensus position on trade: full-on opposition to NAFTA-style pacts.

Winter Rabbit posted this diary on Tuesday night. This is an important report and perhaps you'll do what I did and send some dough.

Longest Walk, Ohio, police brutality

Imagine beginning to walk from San Francisco in order to raise awareness about American Indian concerns in a good way and having walked over 2,400 miles since February; but then, you get to Ohio where eight police cars come swooping at you while one does the blocking. Suddenly, an officer comes and reaches into the window, grabbing the wheel.

Source

COLUMBUS Ohio – Unprovoked Columbus, Ohio police, attacked Long Walkers, by first pointing a taser at the head of Michael Lane and then forcing Luv the Mezenger to the ground and handcuffing him.

The Longest Walk Northern Route was walking this prayer through Columbus on Monday, June 2, when squad cars and arrest wagons arrived. Without discussion of the purpose of the prayer walk, or even verify that the Ohio Department of Transportation had been notified of the prayer walk, police attacked the walkers.

John McCain has had to run right hard to capture the Republican nomination. Now that he has it, his proverbial run back to the center has been blocked by the ongoing imperative to prove his conservative bona fides to the Republican base, where attitudes toward him run from mistrust to loathing.

Nonetheless, in an unusual and rather creative speech delivered in the Ohio heartland (Columbus) today, McCain began the long walk back, rhetorically, if not substantively, toward addressing all Americans.

In Columbus today, John McCain made his pitch that he, and not Barack Obama, is the candidate of hope.  In a major if theoretical reversal of his commitment to a perpetual 100, a thousand or a million year American presence in Iraq, McCain declared that he "would hope to have achieved" a drawdown of most U.S. forces by the end of his first term in 2013.  But given McCain's unbroken record of error of forecasting when it comes to Iraq, Americans should rightly view his new 10 year prediction with suspicion.

I caught Barack's speech in Columbus (what little CNN chose to air) and I gotta believe in him.  I want him for President, not for VP, because I believe he would get his millions of Americans that have supported his campaign to help him reform the political quagmire of Washington.

I haven't donated to his campaign, and was this close to sending in some money, but instead I'll make a pledge to the Democratic party that I'll send in my donation when he is chosen as the Democratic nominee for President.

Yeah, I'll vote for Hillary if she gets it, but I'll keep my money.  She is too much of the same, and my dollars won't get her to pay attention to folks like me.

Using the unofficial precinct-level data for last week's primary released by the Franklin County Board of Elections, here is the distribution of Obama/Clinton votes across the county polling places (click for larger version):

More...

Just a quick photo blog of some pics I took this morning of an Obama visibility operation at the Lane and High intersection on the Ohio State campus in Columbus.

I just got to work, and thought I'd share my voting experience.

I drove to a rather large Methodist church (I still don't get the whole voting in a church thing) in Pickerington, OH (east of Columbus) this morning to cast my vote.  After turning around, driving back home, picking up my wallet with my driver's license I left in the kitchen, and driving back to the church, I was ready.  

Hillary held a rally this morning in Westerville, OH (suburb of Columbus) at the Westerville North High School gym. oddly, Obama is also appearing in Westerville today, at Westerville South High School, so Westerville is the center of the political universe at the moment. Hillary's event was aimed at organizing and signing up canvassers; Obama's is to be a town hall-style meeting.

Here are some pictures (warning -- lots of them!):

Barack Obama campaigned on the Ohio State University campus in Columbus today at St. John's Arena. Here are some pictures (warning, lots of them!).

It was a bitter cold morning, with wind chill below zero. This is around 7:15am, with doors opening at 8:30:

A couple of flyers today in the mail in Ohio today from Hillary for President, showing that two can play at that game:

Reverse (click for larger image):

Hillary held a town hall meeting yesterday evening in Columbus, Ohio at Columbus state Community College. She appeared on stage with Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland and several local people who told their stories.

Obama for America has opened a campaign office in Columbus, Ohio in preparation for the March 4th primary. The grand opening was last Saturday, Feb. 16. The address is 193 E. Rich St. This location is across the street from the Ohio Republican Party headquarters at 200 E. Rich St., and only about a block from the Hillary Clinton for President campaign office at 309 S. 4th St.

They don't have yard signs at the moment but bumper stickers are available for $1 each.

Here are a few shots of the operations going on there today:

Yesterday was the "grand opening" of the Hillary Clinton for President campaign office at 309 S. 4th St, Columbus, OH. That address was formerly the site of the Strickland for Governor campaign office in 2006. Hillary's people have actually been running operations for over a week but the grand opening was yesterday.

Plenty of yard signs are available, but they're out of bumper stickers at the moment, except for the Hillary "signature" stickers. Of course they are enlisting volunteers to phone bank, canvass and house volunteers. Food and other supplies are also needed.

Here are a few photos of the operations today:

Bill Clinton attended church services this morning in Columbus, Ohio at St. Paul's African Methodist Episcopal Church, the oldest congregation of African descent in Columbus (1823). He's now headed for an appearance in Toledo and a couple other Ohio cities today.

He spoke from the pulpit, but I got there too late to report on what he said. I did get some shots of him singing along to a long hymn, apparently knowing all the words--of course, he is a Methodist after all. A photographer told me he saw Clinton drop $100 in the collection basket.

Here are some photos from the church service.

Here are some more pics from Hillary's rally at Ohio State in Columbus last night.

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UPDATE: Here's a flickr set that can be viewed as a slide show:

Hillary at OSU (flickr)

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Hillary had a rally tonight at Ohio State in Columbus, at the French Field House. She was introduced by Gov. Ted Strickland, Sen. John Glenn and Rep. Stephanie Tubbs-Jones.

It was a huge and boisterous crowd and Hillary really hit all the main points of her campaign. Here are some photos from this very exciting rally!