Swing State Ohio (film)

"Swing State Ohio" is an upcoming documentary film about the 2004 American presidential elections. It was produced by Jed Wolfington, Loren Larsen, Paul Davison and Lauren Davison, and was written by Jed Wolfington. The film will be broadcast on PBS some time in the summer of 2008.

Plot summary

Three young citizen-journalists from New York and California decide to go to Ohio during the lead-up to the 2004 elections and cover the inner workings of each campaign from the ground level. The film presents an overview of the electoral process, and provides lessons to be learned from the 2004 elections that can certainly be applied to the 2008 election cycle, given that many of the issues remain relevant (i.e. the economy, the war in Iraq) and that Ohio is sure to be a key swing state, as it has been for the past four decades.

The film has generated some discussion over whether or not it is "balanced" in partisan terms. The film has been characterized as a sort of "Rorshacht Test" of political affiliation. Moderates tend to regard it as an unbiased and balanced piece, while Conservatives regard it as left-leaning, and Liberals complain that the film isn't hard enough on the issue of Electoral Manipulation by Republicans. One of the key issues that comes up in the film is the handling of the 2004 elections by Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell, who was also serving as co-chair for the Campaign to re-elect President George W. Bush .

Appearing in the film are Senator Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA), Rob Portman (R-OH), Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), Ken Blackwell (R-OH), Coach Dave Daubenmire, and then Congressman Sherrod Brown (D-OH).

External links

*imdb title|0963346
* [http://www.swingstatethemovie.com/ Official website]
* [http://www.opednews.com/articles/1/opedne_joan_bru_070415__22swing_state_ohio_22_a.htm OpEdNews article on "Swing State Ohio"]
* [http://www.theredalert.com/features/swingstateohio.htm The Red Alert article on "Swing State Ohio"]