ASHLEY H. GRANT
Associated Press
ROCHESTER, Minn. - John Kerry planned to venture out of the Democratic comfort
zone to court voters in this Republican-leaning city for the second time this
fall.
Rochester, best known as the home of the Mayo Clinic, has received two visits
each from Kerry and President Bush since September.
In 2000, Bush won 52 percent of the vote in Olmsted County, versus 43 percent
for Al Gore. Since then, the number of registered voters has jumped 8.1
percent, but Minnesotans don't register by party so there's no way to tell
whether those are Republicans or Democrats.
Joe Peschek, a political analyst from Hamline University, said Wednesday's visit
was meant to do more than talk to Rochester voters.
"I think he's trying to reach across the border" into media markets in northern
Iowa and western Wisconsin, Peschek said. Although the city tends to back
Republican candidates, there are moderate and liberal voters there. "I think he
wants to not rely entirely on the Twin Cities metro area."
Ryan Gardner, 31, of Minneapolis who delivers medical supplies, said that until
this week, he hadn't been politically active since he helped him mom deliver
campaign literature when he was a child. But now he's planted signs in his yard
and slapped bumper stickers on his car.
"You can't just be passive anymore and let the tide take you where it will," he
said while waiting in line to see Kerry. "I just really can't emphasize enough
how important I think this is. I feel this is coming down to the wire."
The visit marks Kerry's eighth to Minnesota this year. Sen. Norm Coleman,
R-Minn., said perhaps Kerry could make use of Mayo's diagnostic equipment while
he was in town.
"Maybe it would be a better use of his time to undergo one of those CAT scans
and see what is in his head and what is in his heart," Coleman said.
Not everyone agrees with President Bush on issues but they know where he stands,
Coleman said. "George Bush has gone through the CAT scan. He has been under the
microscope."
Last week, Kerry rallied about 30,000 supporters in Minneapolis and Bush held a
more intimate gathering at an airport hangar in Rochester.
Bush is scheduled to hold a rally Saturday at Target Center in Minneapolis, and
Vice President ***** Cheney and vice presidential candidate Sen. John Edwards
have each been to Minnesota once this week. For Thursday, Cheney planned a
campaign stop in International Falls and Edwards is expected in Duluth.
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/politics/10028916.htm
--
"There's an old saying in Tennessee -- I know it's in Texas -- that says, fool
me once, shame on you. Fool me -- you can't get fooled again."
http://www.diymedia.net/audio/mp3/tdntb-bushwack2.mp3
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