The deer are with you; don't count on the rabbits

Gov. Bob Taft decided to do something unique on the campaign trail Saturday, so he took a 91-mile train trip through six Ohio counties. Between stops, the governor talked with reporters and looked out the window at the passing scenery.

When he saw several cows moving away from the train, he said, "Hey look, cows. Those must be Republican cows."

When he saw a deer running through a field in the same direction as the train, he said, "Hey, look at the deer. It must be a Republican. It's with us!"

Luckily, the governor didn't see any donkeys.

A fashion statement?

Often on weekend campaign trips, the governor wears the same pair of khaki pants with holes in the knees that have been stitched up. This Saturday was no different, with the governor wearing his worn pants, white tube socks, and old, scuffed shoes.

When asked why he wears such old pants, the governor said, "I love these pants. They're warm." Then he pointed to the rips and said they provide him with fodder for safety lessons.

"I ran into a kid who was biking and wearing his helmet and said, `It's a good thing you are wearing your helmet,'" he explained, pointing to his knees. "Look what can happen on a bike."

Money helps, too

Mr. Taft usually gives the same answer when asked how it is that he's spent $9 million on television ads in the governor's race, but still has only about 50 percent of the vote in polls.

"It's a tough year for incumbents," he explains.

But on Saturday's train trip through the heartland, the governor - perhaps feeling a little more confident as the race draws to a close - had a little more to add.

When asked why - if it's a tough year for Republicans - most of them seem shoo-ins for re-election to statewide office, the governor drawled, "You mean besides skill and intelligence?"

The Hagan Clan

Kate, Meg, Tim, Jim, Bobbie, Chris, Annie, Elaine, Monica, Susan, Mary and Jeff.

Those are the family members that traveled, at one point or another, with Democratic candidate Tim Hagan on Saturday.

Mr. Hagan's big family - his really big family - stood around him as he encouraged fellow Democrats to get out the vote Tuesday.

And that's not all of them. Two couldn't make it.

Chris Hagan drove the RV from town to town as Mr. Hagan's 82-year-old mother, Ada, played with her grandchildren in the kitchen nook.

In Youngstown, a group of Democrat volunteers Mr. Hagan was talking to visibly shrank when he asked his family members to come stand with him for a picture.

As union workers filed in and out of a Warrensville Heights office to help get out the vote, Mr. Hagan discovered another reason why his family had come along.

"The only reason my family is here is to pick up the doughnuts," he said, watching as a box of glazed pastries vanished.

Bob-bin for apples

Mr. Hagan made a campaign stop in Willoughby, looking to talk to the people Gov. Taft spoke to when he campaigned in the East Cleveland suburb last week.

"Did Bob Taft stop here?" Mr. Hagan asked an apple merchant in the Willoughby farmer's market. The answer was yes.

And when Mr. Hagan learned the governor didn't buy any apples, he smiled and said. "I'm going to, just because he didn't." He promptly shelled out six bucks for a bag.

Bill Smith, the Genoa apple farmer, didn't seem too impressed with either visitor.

"I'll vote for him, I guess," Mr. Smith said, indicating Mr. Hagan.

Debra Jasper is chief of the Enquirer Columbus Bureau. Spencer Hunt is a reporter in the Columbus bureau. They can be reached at (614) 224-4640 or email at djasper@enquirer.com or shunt@enquirer.com.