All Eyes On Ohio

(CBS)  Editor's Note: Two days after this story aired, Sen. Hillary Clinton went on to win the primaries in Ohio, Texas and Rhode Island; Sen. Barack Obama won in Vermont. Also on Tuesday night, CBS News projected that Republican Sen. John McCain had clinched his party's nomination for president, after winning the primaries in all four states.

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On Tuesday, Democrats will hold primaries in two big states, Texas and Ohio. The latter has long been a bellwether of American politics, and no one has won the presidency without winning Ohio since John F. Kennedy, nearly 50 years ago.

If Democrats had carried Ohio in the last two elections, they would have won the White House, and Ohio voters will play a large part in determining who the Democratic nominee will be in 2008 and, perhaps, whether Hillary Clinton can keep her candidacy alive.

Correspondent Steve Kroft talked with Sen. Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama as 60 Minutes followed their campaigns in Ohio this past week.

"I know your husband has said and other people have said you've got to win these two states to stay in the race. Do you agree with that?" Kroft asked Sen. Clinton.

"Well, I intend to. I intend to do everything I can to win them. And we're doing well," Sen. Clinton replied.

"Do you like your chances of winning one of the two big primaries that are next Tuesday?" Kroft asked Sen. Obama.

"I think we've got a good shot," the senator from Illinois replied.

There's no better place to find out than Ohio: it's the heartland of America, one of the big states in the middle of the country that has always grown the food and made the things that America needs - from auto parts to soap and shampoo to hamburgers.

It stretches from the Great Lakes to the Ohio River, from Appalachia to the plains of the Middle West. If Ohio were a country it would have the 25th largest economy in the world, just behind the Netherlands. But today it reflects the problems and the challenges facing the United States and its middle class in a world that is rapidly changing.

From Youngstown and Cleveland to Akron and Dayton, Obama and Clinton have crisscrossed a state that could put one of them in the White House. In the eight years that George Bush has been president, Ohio has lost more than 200,000 manufacturing jobs and the state's median income has fallen by nearly ten percent.

It's being felt in the small cities that dot the Ohio landscape and could very well decide the primary. It's places like Chillicothe, a town of 22,000 people an hour south of Columbus.

Chillicothe is a political microcosm of the state of Ohio: in the past two presidential elections, the voting patterns here have been virtually identical to the statewide results. George Bush and John Kerry campaigned for president here; so did Bill Clinton, Richard Nixon, Harry Truman, and Teddy Roosevelt.

One reason may be that the politics here are unpredictable. Chillicothe has more independents than Republicans and Democrats combined. And all of them are eligible to vote on Tuesday.

Steve Madru, the Democratic chairman of Ross County, thinks the town is not only a mirror of Ohio, but the whole country.

Every evening he turns his real estate office in Chillicothe into the campaign headquarters for Senator Clinton.

"My sense of it is that a lot of the party establishment, a lot of the party machinery, is behind Hillary?" Kroft asked.

"Yes, pretty much," Madru agreed. "I think it's, you know, Ted Strickland, our governor, is behind Hillary. And he's done such a great job in Ohio. And he's friends with the Clintons. And a lot of us kind of follow along with the governor."

A month ago that organizational support had given Sen. Clinton a 20-point lead in Ohio polls, but much of it has evaporated with 11 straight defeats and the rise of a dedicated corps of Obama supporters who have been canvassing neighborhoods and taking their own informal street corner surveys by gauging how many people honk at their campaign signs.

"You assume that people honking are people that like you?" Kroft asked campaigner Chris Cooper.

"Well, when they give you a thumbs up, they like you. When they give you the finger it's a thumbs down. So, I'm pretty sure those are international symbols," Cooper replied.

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[barhranch]

Steve Kroft, your gender bias was glaringly evident during this "interview".
Not only did you make certain Obama had ample opportunity
to refute the rumors circulating about him; you pointedly pushed
Sr. Clinton into confirming their absurdity.

Did you offer even a token of consideration to Sr. Clinton for the
vicious rumors being circulated about her?

We hold Sixty Minutes to higher standards. Shame on you for
lowering the bar!

Edith Harrop

[nicolexue]

I will vote for him! And i will persuade my friends at STDromance.com to do so

[craigh9]

Hillary registers very strong with uneducated voters.

Wow - aren''t these the folks that react most to negative - fear mongering tactics. Way to go Hillary, those that can''t think for themselves are on your side. What an accomplishment

[samthetvcat]

Somebody should ask Barack whether he thinks Bill is probably cheating on Hillary while Bubba''s on the road so much, and then Barack could answer:

%u201COf course not. I mean, that, you know, there is no basis for that. I take him on the basis of what he says. And, you know, there isn''t any reason to doubt that.%u201D

%u201CNo. No, there is nothing to base that on. As far as I know.%u201D

And then he ought to release every picture taken of Bill on the road standing next to a female . . . see whether Hillary still feels like she ''rejected'' and ''denounced'' the muslim rumors to the extent that was warranted . . .

[seektruth1]

News Flash...Barack Obama chooses to vilify American CEO''s for "making in 10 minutes what it takes for ordinary Americans to make in a year".

First...it''s a lie%u2026mathematically impossible...do the numbers yourself.

Second, Barack fails to mention that he makes 52 times the ordinary American. 52 TIMES!!!

Third...what''s his point? What? ...we should create a government agency to determine and enforce the acceptable level of wages for every occupation? Obama, what should basketball players make...rock bands...movie stars? People...it''s called supply and demand.

Rather than using the most educated and successful people in our society as an example of what American''s can achieve, he chooses to vilify them. Instead he chooses to utilize class warfare as his rally cry.

So you still think he%u2019s going to unite us? Of course you do.

[seektruth1]

Hope and change...when asked what that means few of you can even articulate what hope and change means. I think most of you are convinced that some politician is going to rescue you...you see the solutions as something beyond your control%u2026which is why you are so quick to blame our %u201Cproblems%u201D on someone else...you never stop to ask yourself what you are doing to help yourself...you may actually be part of the problem.

"Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country". This timeless quote lost in the minutiae of entitlement.

I was raised in a lower middle income blue collar family...I%u2019m now retired at a very young age...all because I took it upon myself to seize the abundant opportunities that we have in this country for those that want to dedicate themselves to realizing the American dream. Each and everyday American%u2019s make dumb choices and then expect the rest of us to pay for your mistakes. Which explains why you would vote for Obama. His policies essentially will protect you from yourself and ensure that the productive members of society bail out the victims.

[bobinpt]

Clinton''s negative campaign tactics seem to be taking some media coverage away from Obama''s campaign message of hope and change. This will pass with time as his answers to these smear tactics get out there. Clinton''s timing to "throw the kitchen sink" just before Ohio and Texas are a sign of her campaign''s level of desperation. I feel it will be "too little too late" for her. The Clintons are masters of manipulation but they won''t be able to turn back this tidal wave of hope and change.

[Marie Zarankevich]

realpatriot1 -- Thank you for that clarification. I was not aware that the "present" declaration was used in that way. I''m very new to all this political stuff.

[seektruth1]

croft777...a follow-up. In your answer, could you please define non-greedy profit and greedy profit? I get a chuckle out of you anti-capitalism geeks%u2026you always seem to think that we are victims of something%u2026everything.

Ah%u2026 but those evil companies with their evil executives making all that money%u2026they just can%u2019t wait to layoff the next American worker. (Obama makes 52 times the ordinary American%u2026he%u2019s one of them you know).

Take a basic global economics class%u2026this is just the beginning of a very bad stretch for American workers that choose to whine rather than adapt. The ones that have invested time and energy in educating themselves may be OK as long as they are willing to work with the energy and vigor of our overseas competitors. Those American%u2019s not up to the challenge will continue to drag this country down%u2026just like a chain that%u2019s only as strong as its weakest link.

Have you read the posts related to the 60 min healthcare story (RAM)? One American after another%u2026I want free healthcare%u2026we are the wealthiest country in the world, why aren%u2019t you successful people paying all of my bills? I can%u2019t pay my $500 deductable%u2026I%u2019d have to give up my cable TV and cell phone. Seventy years ago an American would have preferred to die rather than let someone else pay his bills. Not today%u2026not with the entitlement culture. We%u2019re screwed!

[desertdan3]

News Flash! Ohio is NOT "a big state in the middle of the country." It is a medium-sized state 850 miles east of the middle of the 48 contiguous states. Put someone on your staff that knows a little geography.