³ÉÈËÂÛ̳

How does the race look to Americans in Britain? That's the perspective from one of our Citizen Reporters. Jim is an American currently living in England though his familiy are from Ohio. Jim himself makes an intersting point about what it does and doesn't mean to be on the political right. I think his description is very different from that found in the mainstream media over here.

Politics is war by other means in Clark County, Ohio. In 2004, the Guardian chose my home county for a letter-writing campaign to nudge voters to vote for John Kerry. It's a strange thing, having the world's attention drawn to your hometown to watch how you vote. But the Guardian's campaign quickly fell to background noise compared to the daily political saturation bombing that flowed through all the media outlets. Campaigning was non-stop with daily visits from all the major party figures. And their entourages. And their motorcades.

My family was at ground zero, and lived to tell the tale.The political divide cuts right down the middle of my family. My siblings and I represent 4 points on the political spectrum. My mom grew up in a blue collar union town: Detroit. She is a Democrat. Her views are so far left that she considers many Democrats to be sellouts. My sister is a left-leaning swing voter. She absolutely loves being an Ohioan, and she's sensitive to the loss of 128 Ohio soldiers killed in Iraq. My brother and I occupy the political right. I'd say close to center, but I suppose it depends on the issue. And what is it that persuades us? We're not FOR prayer in schools, or AGAINST stem cell research. We're not FOR a constitutional ban on abortion, or AGAINST gay marriage.....