ProgressOhio

As conventions ebb and flow, Day 4 breeds familiarity.

Suits give way to sport coats, which give way to open colors and finally to shorts in today’s informal world (except Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory who I long ago concluded likely has pajamas with coat and tie.)

It was that atmosphere that  actually seemed appropriate for the Democratic delegations family goodbye to Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones. Remembering STJ requires smiles and laughter – that was in essence Stephanie.

The Ohio delegation laughed, cried and even sang when remembering the one Ohio politician that took over a room without saying a word. Lee Fisher’s son put together a moving tribute from past footage and STJs son Mervyn who had been in town earlier this week left a video message for the Ohio delegation. You could see even in two dimensional video how she lifted the energy level of the room.

Many delegates will return home on Friday and face the busy realities of Ohio politics right off the bat. The memorial at Cleveland Public Hall for Tubbs Jones will attract not only the Democratic ticket and most Ohio political luminaries, but many Congressional leaders of both parties as well.

Tonight in Dayton, John McCain arrives in economically hard hit Dayton to anoint his ticket at a large rally on Friday morning.

After the Tubbs Jones Memorial Ohio will see the Obama ticket in Columbus.

If there is any doubt that Ohio is once again the heart of electoral politics – it is wiped away by the furious pace of conventions and politicking back in the Buckeye state. The race is on and the pace is fast.

Republicans packing for Minneapolis next week are equally taxed preparing for their own dual spotlight of conventioneering and McCain appearances.

And for the rest of Ohio they are targets as much as bemused bystanders. The negative ads began in July and will only pick up a faster, nastier and more furious pace.

From targeted mail and phone calls, to marketing programs aimed at clear demographics – Ohioans in their living rooms await an onslaught earlier and more costly than even 2004.

John McCain has to win Ohio. And it may not be as numerically necessary but Barak Obama’s path is much clearer with Ohio than without Ohio.

Everywhere you go in Denver, when someone hears you are from Ohio they stop you and ask how things can be different in Ohio this time around.

And the irony of all of this is that the one Ohio Pol who most enjoyed a good spirited campaign, the one who always seemed tireless, will not be there to enjoy it.

So amidst the tears and laughter at the memorial to Stephanie Tubbs Jones, Ohioans are in search of that adrenalin rush, the cheerleader in Stephanie that somehow made volunteering or working in politics fun.

A cab driver here in Denver told me his theory of energy which extends beyond just machinery but within people – emotional energy, spiritual energy and physical energy.

Little did he know that he more than anyone defined what Stephanie Tubbs Jones meant to the Ohio delegation during the hyper-kinetic days of campaigns like 2004. Somehow that smile and optimism lifted the energy level around her.

If those in Denver are to achieve their goal, they are going to have to replace that spark from within. Then and only then will they find solace in Stephanie’s long goodbye.