We're standing in front of the Adam's County Courthouse when Roger Strickland tells me:
"A year ago I would never have imagined it would be like this."
"Things change?" I ask.
"Things change," he says with a smile.

60 miles and an hour and half later, dusk falls on Waverly, Ohio outside of another rally. Someone points out the Republican "tracker" assigned to follow the Democratic candidates and record their every move (a la macaca).

Standing next to Roger Strickland again, I ask him what he thinks about the tracker following his brother's every move. He laughs as two members of the Painters and Allied Trades Union strategically relocate their sign in front of the tracker's camera and says, "Maybe after the election they can watch the tape and learn how to run a real campaign."

Ohio is no stranger to political attention but everyone I've spoken to says that this year feels different than any other they've experienced. It all comes down to the massive failures of Republican Government, both on the national, but especially the state level. As Strickland notes in his speech, "They [Republicans] have no one to blame but themselves!" It seems the textbook political science case study of a state ready for change.

When Ted Strickland steps up to speak, he takes a moment remember when the two teenage twin sisters holding one of the campaign signs were just infants. It's clear to everyone that Strickland's roots in this area run deep and that he is, as his signs declare him, "A Leader from Our Part of Ohio." As he hammers home his message of change, one line of in particular catches my ear. "Hope," he tells the crowd, "Hope and Help are on the Way!"

It looks like the hope and help that Ohio needs will come none too soon.