Stolen base

Politics | George W. Bush's gains in Ohio among African-American voters could spell defeat for John Kerry | Bob Jones

If Ohio, as most pundits agree, is the political bellwether for the rest of the nation, George W. Bush can only hope that Canton Centre is not the bellwether for the rest of the state.

"Look at me," said Carolyn Palmer as she watched her sons play glow-in-the-dark mini golf at the rundown shopping mall in northeastern Ohio. "It's a Wednesday afternoon and I should be working, but I can't find a job. Do I look like someone who's going to vote for Bush?"

Yolanda Carter said she comes here to keep herself occupied after the restaurant where she used to work shut down. "I don't hate Bush like a lot of my friends," she said. "I think he's a good man who shares a lot of my beliefs. But I believe in feeding my family most of all, and how am I going to do that if I don't have a job, you know? I think you've got to look out for your kids, so I'll be voting for Kerry."