TAMPA, Fla., Oct. 17, 2008

Will Sunshine State Sway Red Or Blue?

CBS Evening News: Why Florida Is One Of The Final Battleground States

  • Play CBS Video Video McCain Aims For The South

    GOP presidential candidate John McCain has concentrated his campaign on Florida and several other Southern states. But, as Chip Reid reports, Barack Obama has made strong gains in this region.

  • Video Florida's Critical Voters

    Florida is a critical swing state this election year and, as Kelly Cobiella reports, a very diverse area known as the I-4 corridor may ultimately decide who Florida chooses.

  • Video Eye On Key Battleground States

    Katie Couric speaks with "Face The Nation" host Bob Schieffer about the close race between presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama in several battleground states.

  •  (CBS/iStockphoto)

  • In-Depth Ways To Win

    Calculate your own path to the presidency with CBSNews.com's electoral vote prediction map.

  • CBS Evening News Where They Stand

    The CBS Evening News provides an in-depth look at the issues facing the 44th president.

(CBS)  For the series "Final Battleground," the CBS Evening News is traveling to three key areas of the country - the South, the Midwest and the West - to hone in on the states that will decide this presidential election. Florida is one state that could swing toward either Barack Obama or John McCain, CBS News correspondent Kelly Cobiella reports.


Lifelong republican Jim Piccillo always thought he'd vote for John McCain. But as the Florida housing market crashed, so did the mortgage company he worked for. Two months ago, he lost his job.

"And then I watched the Republican National Convention, and it really hit a nerve," he said. "I was unemployed and watching the entire Republican delegation basically sit up and laugh at someone who helps the unemployed really affected me."

So much so that he's voting for Barack Obama. Former Tampa Mayor Dick Greco is switching sides too. He's a democrat who thinks John McCain has the experience to fix the economy.

"He is one hell of a man," Greco said. "There is no question. He sold me and what he is saying makes sense to me."

Both campaigns are trying to use the poor state of the Florida economy to their advantage, and there's no shortage of angry voters in the Sunshine State - with more than 600,000 people out of work, and nearly as many who've lost their homes to foreclosure in the past year.

What makes Florida a battleground is that Obama has the southeast - and its large number of African American, Jewish and liberal white voters. McCain is the favorite among military and socially conservative voters in the southwest and north. Both are fighting for the middle - the I-4 corridor - home to a diverse group of blacks, whites, hispanics, retirees and young workers - and nearly 40 percent of the state's independents.

"In the 2000 and 2004 elections, the Independent voters split right down the middle. This time out both parties are going after them heavy-duty" said political scientist Susan MacManus of the University of South Florida.

Both sides plan to spend the next crucial weeks trying to convert their neighbors - in a region that could decide whether Florida stays red or turns blue.

© MMVIII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Add a Comment See all 136 Comments
by albertw40 October 20, 2008 10:02 AM EDT
Florida, like this whole election, will depend on the volunteers on the ground.
Reply to this comment
by indevoter October 19, 2008 2:44 PM EDT
It will all come down to turnout and in that catagory Republicans have the advantage, I hate to say.
Reply to this comment
by indevoter October 19, 2008 2:41 PM EDT
Lifelong republican Jim Piccillo always thought he''d vote for John McCain. But as the Florida housing market crashed, so did the mortgage company he worked for. Two months ago, he lost his job.

"And then I watched the Republican National Convention, and it really hit a nerve," he said. "I was unemployed and watching the entire Republican delegation basically sit up and laugh at someone who helps the unemployed really affected me."

-----------------

At the convention the Republican''s barely mentioned average people and they were in denile on the economy. Anyone who votes for 4 more years of republican leadership gets what they deserve.
Reply to this comment
by indevoter October 19, 2008 2:36 PM EDT
McCAIN is a BUSH 3rd term. McCAIN supported 4 of BUSH''s budgets and voted with him 95% of the time.
Reply to this comment
by indevoter October 19, 2008 2:35 PM EDT
IF YOU VOTED FOR ''''W. BUSH'''' TWICE, THEN YOUR OPINION IS NOT CREDIBLE.

Think about it. It is bad enough that you didn''''t see Bush''''s incompetence prior to his first term, but to repeat in 2004 your voting mistake in light of clear evidence of Bush''''s poor judgment is a wretched shame! And now you two-time Bush-backers have the audacity to pen your opinions on this commentary in support of a FAR WORST presidential ticket than Bush-Cheney. McCain-Palin is so pathetically worst than Bush-Cheney, that if Obama-Biden were not an available option, I would write-in Bush-Cheney for another 4 years.

YOU TWO-TIME BUSH-BACKERS HAVE NO CREDIBILITY ON THIS COMMENTARY. IT IS BETTER THAT YOU SAVE YOUR DIGNITY THAN TRY TO PROVIDE ANOTHER OPINION.

GOD Bless the United States of America!
GOD Bless the Obama-Biden Leadership Team!

Posted by Indepedent01 at 04:53 AM : Oct 19, 2008

---------------

Amen!
Reply to this comment
by indevoter October 19, 2008 2:34 PM EDT
Amen!
Reply to this comment
by indepedent01 October 19, 2008 7:53 AM EDT
IF YOU VOTED FOR ''W. BUSH'' TWICE, THEN YOUR OPINION IS NOT CREDIBLE.

Think about it. It is bad enough that you didn''t see Bush''s incompetence prior to his first term, but to repeat in 2004 your voting mistake in light of clear evidence of Bush''s poor judgment is a wretched shame! And now you two-time Bush-backers have the audacity to pen your opinions on this commentary in support of a FAR WORST presidential ticket than Bush-Cheney. McCain-Palin is so pathetically worst than Bush-Cheney, that if Obama-Biden were not an available option, I would write-in Bush-Cheney for another 4 years.

YOU TWO-TIME BUSH-BACKERS HAVE NO CREDIBILITY ON THIS COMMENTARY. IT IS BETTER THAT YOU SAVE YOUR DIGNITY THAN TRY TO PROVIDE ANOTHER OPINION.

GOD Bless the United States of America!
GOD Bless the Obama-Biden Leadership Team!
Reply to this comment
by euge005 October 19, 2008 2:16 AM EDT
Never underestimate the ability of the democrats in Florida to Chaney up a done deal. I went to school in the north, grew up there and started my life as a Rockefeller repug. As much as I like Hockey, I would hate to move to Canada after McBush finished the job of destroying the country that Bush (2) and the first prime fool Ronnie started. God help the whole world if the forces of darkness claim another win.
Reply to this comment
by tkjayhawk October 19, 2008 1:40 AM EDT
Hmm, that is funny because Ronald Reagan opposed MLK day. McCain was also against MLK day. Get your facts straight dude. Typical Republican twisting the facts. Now whow are the racists???

"Ronald Reagan was also opposed to the holiday. He recanted only after Congress passed the King Day bill with an overwhelming veto-proof majority (338 to 90 in the House of Representatives and 78 to 22 in the Senate).[11] Prior to that date, New Hampshire and Arizona had not observed the day. Throughout the 1990s, this was heavily criticized."

"John McCain voted against the creation of the holiday to honor King"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King_Day

______________________________________________

Democrats hate Republicans. That is what we have been taught to believe. I have accepted the fact that most black Americans are Democrats. So my question is, do Democrats really hate Martin Luther King Jr.?
MLK was a registered Republican from 1956 and throughout his life. It was Ronald Reagan who signed the law to make MLK''''s birthday a national holiday, and it was the Republicans who overwhelmed the Democrats to grant Civil Rights to our black brothers. So why the hate? Because Democrat White Liberal Racists are really good liars.

Posted by forthinvader at 09:37 PM : Oct 18, 2008
+ report abuse
Reply to this comment
by tkjayhawk October 19, 2008 1:36 AM EDT
Hmm, that is funny because McCain was against MLK day.

"John McCain voted against the creation of the holiday to honor King, and later defended Arizona Republican Governor Mecham''s rescinding of the state holiday in honor of King created by his Democratic predecessor. After his opposition grew increasingly untenable, McCain reversed his position, and encouraged his home state of Arizona to recognize the holiday despite opposition from then-Governor Evan Mecham[10]"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King_Day

______________________________________________

Democrats hate Republicans. That is what we have been taught to believe. I have accepted the fact that most black Americans are Democrats. So my question is, do Democrats really hate Martin Luther King Jr.?
MLK was a registered Republican from 1956 and throughout his life. It was Ronald Reagan who signed the law to make MLK''''s birthday a national holiday, and it was the Republicans who overwhelmed the Democrats to grant Civil Rights to our black brothers. So why the hate? Because Democrat White Liberal Racists are really good liars.

Posted by forthinvader at 09:37 PM : Oct 18, 2008
+ report abuse
Reply to this comment
by malgri October 19, 2008 1:29 AM EDT
BLUE it is!
Reply to this comment
by forthinvader October 19, 2008 12:37 AM EDT
Democrats hate Republicans. That is what we have been taught to believe. I have accepted the fact that most black Americans are Democrats. So my question is, do Democrats really hate Martin Luther King Jr.?
MLK was a registered Republican from 1956 and throughout his life. It was Ronald Reagan who signed the law to make MLK''s birthday a national holiday, and it was the Republicans who overwhelmed the Democrats to grant Civil Rights to our black brothers. So why the hate? Because Democrat White Liberal Racists are really good liars.
Reply to this comment
by robert2237 October 19, 2008 12:06 AM EDT
Realidad - What is this you guys still crying cause you lost in 2004. Give it up, you may be able to cry after this one and then again you may not. But I bet you that within 2 years you are crying if Obama get is.
Reply to this comment
by robert2237 October 19, 2008 12:03 AM EDT
michael - Oh you are so right that Bush has given away money. But it is nothing to what the chosen one will do. Hold on to you gold, with Obama the dollar will not be worth anything. Good luck I pray for us.
Reply to this comment
by robert2237 October 19, 2008 12:02 AM EDT
bakarani- Only got one thing to say about your long post. If people are afraid of losing their house and jobs then they can not vote for Obama. Jobs will be leaving if he gets in fact not ficition.
Reply to this comment
by robert2237 October 19, 2008 12:00 AM EDT
MarinTX- The main ones who should be facing charges on this bailout is Franks and Dobbs and maybe Obama not for sure on him yet since it is true he took the 3rd most money but don''t know yet if he did any thing illgal yet. Franks and Dobbs it is plain they did.
Reply to this comment
by realidad-2009 October 18, 2008 8:16 PM EDT
Acorn Attacks are Cover for Republican Voter Suppression (200,000 removed in Ohio), and Vote Fraud Operations!

In 2004 exit polls all day had Kerry ahead by 6-7%, then late afternoon and evening after polls closed... totals REVERSED!

The GOP continues to resist attempts to subpoena Michael Connell, a shady Republican computer operative who programmed the 2000 Bush-Cheney web site. Connell was also hired by former Ohio Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell in 2004 to tabulate the Ohio vote count. Under Connell, Ohio''s vote totals were shunted to a computer bank in the same basement in Chattanooga, Tennessee, that housed the servers of the Republican National Committee. In the early hours of the morning after election day, vote totals mysteriously began shifting from Kerry to Bush, swinging the 2004 election. Connell''s cyber-security industry colleague Stephen Spoonamore, a Republican and former McCain supporter, has said that Connell may be able to shed light on vote count rigging in the 2008 vote count as well. Attorneys in the King-Lincoln- Bronzeville civil rights lawsuit have thus far been unable to secure Connell''s sworn testimony.

check it out... and more.
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=10553
Reply to this comment
by marintx October 18, 2008 7:44 PM EDT
Has anyone heard if any of the CEOs and top execs of the Wall Street Companies we bailed out are going to actually face any reprimand. Especially AIG who is laughing in our faces as it sends their execs on luxury trips and doesn''t even try to hide it. Do we, as American tax payers, have any recourse to go back and seek some kind of damages from them? Is there an attorney here that might know?
Reply to this comment
by jone775 October 18, 2008 6:51 PM EDT
What exactly does it mean to be a socialist?
Reply to this comment
by wevehadenuf October 18, 2008 5:05 PM EDT
Mccain doesn''''t give a rats behind about people like joe the plumber. If you make less than 250 g''''s a year and you vote for Mccain then you are dumb. You vote against your own interest! Mccain will continue to tax you and give to the rich while your broke ******* is barely able to pay for groceries and what will you do? Stand around and sing about how great it is to live somewhere where you can pay taxes and get nothing in return but horrible healthcare, high gas prices, and no education because you can''''t afford it. Meanwhile rich execs are opening bottles of champagne on a private jet "thanks, joe the plumber!" *******!"
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