Lake County, just east of Cleveland, stretches 31 miles along the shore of Lake Erie. It was largely rural before World War II, but its population, now 230,000, exploded in the 1950s and '60s. It is 95% white, and much of its workforce is rooted in the region's battered manufacturing sector.
Lake County's closely divided politics mirror Ohio's as a whole, which makes independents like George Giannakos of Kirtland the object of much attention. Giannakos, 63, a former financial manager who lost his job in a corporate downsizing, voted for McCain in 2008 but now leans toward Obama.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Wednesday, September 12, 2012 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 4 News Desk 2 inches; 82 words Type of Material: Correction
Swing states: In the Sept. 9 Section A, a chart that accompanied an article about the presidential race in three swing states contained errors in the unemployment rates shown, reversing the figures and mislabeling one of the years covered. In Nevada, the correct unemployment rate was 13.8% in July 2011 and 12.0% in July 2012. In Ohio, it was 8.9% in July 2011 and 7.2 % in July 2012. In Virginia, it was 6.4% in July 2011 and 5.9% in July 2012.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Sunday, September 16, 2012 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 4 News Desk 2 inches; 82 words Type of Material: Correction
Swing states: In the Sept. 9 Section A, a chart that accompanied an article about the presidential race in three swing states contained errors in the unemployment rates shown, reversing the figures and mislabeling one of the years covered. In Nevada, the correct unemployment rate was 13.8% in July 2011 and 12.0% in July 2012. In Ohio, it was 8.9% in July 2011 and 7.2 % in July 2012. In Virginia, it was 6.4% in July 2011 and 5.9% in July 2012.
Obama is too liberal on spending, debt and healthcare, he said, but Romney would favor wealthy Americans. "He has no clue what the real world is like," Giannakos said of the GOP nominee. "He's lived in a bubble."
Ann Fiorta, 38, a nurse on a visit to Mentor's public library, also said that Romney was out of touch with the middle class and too antigovernment, but she is leaning toward supporting him nonetheless. Fiorta said Obama seemed arrogant and Romney's conservative moral values reflected her own.
But what she really hates, Fiorta said, is the nonstop advertising aimed at persuading people like her.
"It's all distorted," she said. "It's just not true."
-- Michael Finnegan
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Henderson, Nev.
A thin film of clouds took the edge off the desert heat as Aron Simmerman and his wife sat on a wooden bench at an outdoor shopping mall, waiting for their daughter to finish a swimming lesson.
Simmerman, a high school teacher in this Las Vegas suburb, voted for Obama in 2008 and Bush before that. Now, despite having closely watched both the Republican and Democratic conventions, he remains undecided.
The problem, he said, was that he still didn't know what Mitt Romney would do as president.
"I have no idea what I'd be voting for," he said. "I get that he doesn't like President Obama ... but I have no idea what his plans are."
Others in this sharply divided community -- which Obama won narrowly in 2008 -- said that neither Romney nor Obama did nearly enough at the conventions to explain their plans for pulling the United States out of the economic doldrums.
That isn't stopping most people from making up their minds, though, despite what they perceive as a substance-thin campaign.
"I don't think we got a lot of specifics," said Bill Evans, resting at an outdoor table after an 8-mile bike ride with his wife and son. Voters already know Obama's plans for tackling the economy, he said -- the president's a known quantity. As for Romney, Evans said it was more important for him to introduce himself to the American people. The upcoming debates will be the time for specifics.
For Evans -- as for his wife, Rebecca -- the choice is clear. They believe that Romney would bring his business sense to the critical task of job creation. As for Obama, "He's a great guy, and he's got a wonderful family," Evans said. "But he's had four years and things are worse."
Not far away, Ed and Shelley Jazwinski sat in a small outdoor park waiting for a free movie screening.
The Jazwinskis moved from New York to Nevada in April in search of work. But with Nevada's unemployment rate at 12%, the highest in the nation, it hasn't been easy. After months of waiting tables and tending bar, Shelley got a job in sales at a department store. Ed, licensed as a bus driver, is still looking.
Still, the Jazwinskis don't blame Obama for their travails, and they don't trust Romney to help them. "He doesn't care much about the middle class," Ed, 40, said of Romney. "I'd like someone who will address issues important to me, not to someone making $2 million a year." Their votes will go to Obama.
Maybe the clearest -- and perhaps most depressing -- view came from two 74-year-old men, friends for decades, chatting over coffee outside a Whole Foods market. Giving off the sheen of aging Rat Packers, neither would give his name -- apparently, what was said in Henderson was going to stay in Henderson.
One said Romney had given him no clue about what he'd do as president, but he'll vote for him anyway. "I've had it with Mr. Obama," he said.
The second had a stock answer to every question: "I'm a hard-core Democrat, and I hate Republicans." He's voting for Obama.
"The bottom line," he added, "is you're talking to two guys who will cancel each other's votes out. If I could trust him" -- a derisive glance at his friend -- "I'd say, 'You stay home and I'll stay home.' But I can't trust him."
There it was, the campaign season in a nutshell.
-- Mitchell Landsberg
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alana.semuels@latimes.com
michael.finnegan@latimes.com
mitchell.landsberg@latimes.com
