MISSOURI GETS PLENTY OF NOTICE

Missouri, we hear again, is a "battleground state," a toss-up in this year's hotly contested presidential race.

The term battleground refers to those states, mostly midwestern states between Jersey City and Kansas City, in which both parties are fighting fiercely over the same swing voters. The race for the White House, if you will recall, is really 50 separate contests to win each state's electoral votes.

Solidly Republican states such as Wyoming and Utah aren't contested by the Democrats, and solidly Democratic states such as Vermont, Hawaii and perhaps New York aren't contested by Republicans. It is in mostly midwestern battleground states that the race will be decided, and Missouri is ground zero.

The point was underscored this past week by the visit of Republican vice presidential nominee Dick Cheney to Cape Girardeau for an airport rally. In his remarks to the enthusiastic crowd, Cheney stressed the state's importance as a "bellwether," referring to the fact that Missouri went with the winner in every presidential election save one during the 20th century.

Cheney told his audience that this might be the closest presidential race since 1960. The GOP ticket has had either Bush or Cheney in Missouri four times in the last 17 days.

What this has meant over the last year and a half is more visits from presidential and vice presidential candidates than any campaign in recent memory.

Just in this area, we have already had visits from both ends of the GOP ticket: Gov. George W. Bush in August 1999, and Cheney this past week.

We haven't yet seen either end of the Democratic ticket, but we may over the next 45 days. And just last week, Al Gore's daughter appeared at SIU-Carbondale, while Tipper Gore is due in Paducah this coming week.

Expect more visits between now and Nov. 7.