Flash player is required to view weather conditions. Download

site web  

COLUMBUS — Like most Ohioans, Dan Nowak of Beavercreek isn't thrilled with the $700 billion economic bailout package but sees it as a way of avoiding disaster.

"I've been very conflicted about that. On one hand, I hate the idea of somehow benefiting the people who got us into this. On the other hand, something has to be done to free up the credit market and help all of us," said Nowak, a 61-year-old retired teacher. "I'm generally in favor of it as a bitter pill we have to swallow."

Suzanne Moore, 62, of Sidney, agrees but it grates on her that she is paying for the mistakes of the lenders who made bad loans and the homebuyers who overextended themselves.

"I pay off my credit cards every month. If we don't have enough money to pay it off in one month, we don't buy it. We've done that since my kids were babies," said Moore, a Democrat and a bookkeeper for her family business that's been struggling.

Only 39 percent of likely voters in Ohio approve of the bailout, according to a poll conducted by the University of Cincinnati for the Dayton Daily News and seven other Ohio newspapers.

Facing the biggest economic crisis since the Great Depression, Ohioans are divided over who would be a better president in the White House: Democrat Barack Obama or Republican John McCain. They're also divided on which candidate would do a better job when in comes to the economy, with Obama getting a slight nod.

Interviews with respondents from the Dayton area showed that same split.

"Definitely Obama. I like a lot of his policies; they sit a lot better with me. Mostly I like Obama's economic policy," said Ryan Griffin, 29, a high school band teacher from Kettering. Griffin says he likes the fact that Obama supports tax breaks for the middle class, instead of McCain's support for corporate tax cuts, and he is not pleased with how deregulation has helped lead to the economic crisis.

Rhonda Bade, 39, a Sinclair Community College student who lives in Dayton, supports McCain, specifically because he doesn't want to increase taxes for the wealthy and businesses. Bade said she thinks wealthy people will move their businesses and jobs overseas if faced with more taxes.

She added that she has little confidence that any one president can help the economy.

"I don't think anybody will do a good job. I don't think that anyone has ever done a good job," Bade said. "Ronald Reagan made a good run at it."

Bob Hager, 50, of Wapakoneta, heads Miller's Textile Service, a 190-employee company that rents uniforms and linens. He's concerned about rising operational costs and the health of his customers' businesses.

Nonetheless, he has faith in the American system.

"I do believe this is the greatest country in the world. We got a lot going for it. If we get up every day and work hard, good things will happen," said Hager, a Republican who supports McCain.

McCain's proposed tax cuts would help Miller's Textile Service, he said, but that's not the only reason he supports McCain.

"I like his history, his experience and I do like the fact that he isn't liked by people in the far right or the far left," Hager said. "I guess he is kind of in the middle."

Contact this reporter at (614) 224-1624 or lbischoff@DaytonDailyNews.com.