The Baumgarten Report

BEXLEY, OH – Harvey Wasserman, senior editor of freepress.org and author of four books about election fraud during the 2004 presidential tally is concerned about a repeat this year. Only this year, he says, there are more eyes on the process than four years ago.

Wasserman was my guest today on News Talk Online on Paltalk.com.

He says there will be no recount ever of the 2004 election. That’s because, despite new federal law to the contrary, documentation about that election has been destroyed.

The epicenter of the dispute over the 2004 election was here in Ohio. Wasserman is convinced the election was stolen. But now, he says, it will never be proven.

He agrees with me that, when all the votes are counted and reported, no matter who the winner, it is injurious to the process for election officials to conduct themselves in questionable fashion. And that the American people have the right to wake up on November 5 convinced that the person declared winner truly did win the election.

Next stop, Toledo, home of “Joe The Plumber” to gauge voter sentiment. Join in that conversation at 5 PM New York time tomorrow, Tuesday October 21 by CLICKING HERE.

YOUNGSTOWN, OH – Politics dominates discourse in Ohio, a key swing state in this year’s presidential election.

At Rotellis Restaurant, first time voters Michele and Rebekah don’t agree on who they’ll vote for. But they do agree that they’re going to vote.

“I was really excited to vote,” Michele said of her opportunity to cast a ballot for Hillary Clinton in the primary.

“Me too,” added Rebekah, whose primary vote went for Ron Paul.

Michele isn’t certain who she will vote for, even though all of her peers, including her boyfriend, say they’ll vote for Barack Obama.

“I was for Hillary but now I’m undecided,” she says.

“I don’t like either of them.”

She says the negative campaigning is turning her off to both candidates.

“They bash each other all the time,” she says. “I don’t like negative people in general.”

Rebekah is also undecided. But she knows she will not vote for Obama.

“I just think he has a lot of empty promises,” she explains.

“He says a lot of vague things.”

What of Obama’s mantra of change?

“Change is inevitable,” says Rebekah. “It will happen anyway, on its own.”

Rebekah, whose brother is in the Army, is also disturbed by what she perceives as Obama’s lack of support for the military.

“My brother’s going there, to Iraq,” she says. Obama’s lack of military experience, she says, “has me worried.” She likes, however, McCain’s record of military service, which, she says, would serve the country well if he is elected president.

Carol, the restaurant manager, however, is solidly for Obama.

She likes that he was “very calm” during the last debate, never losing his composure. She says she found McCain’s demeanor off setting.

That’s the form. What about the substance?

“I don’t think either of them is telling the truth,” Carol says.

“I think both of them say what they think we want to hear.”

We’ll keep focused on Ohio for the next two days. News Talk Online will be live from Columbus on Monday and from Toledo on Tuesday at 5 PM New York time. CLICK HERE to join in the conversation.