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I was on the phone with Republican planners much of Friday, because WSAZ was going to be the pool camera for the Sarah Palin visit to Southern Ohio.

These national candidates have an entourage of national media that follows them around daily.  However, the campaigns like to put a local reporter-photographer on the bus to capture images and other moments.  That's because the national media members follow the speeches and the local guys always try to hear from the people who live here and visit the rallies.  It typically ends up being positive press for the candidate because video of candidates pouring apple cider is pleasing to viewers.  The only "real" rule we have to follow is that we agree to share our video with all other local stations.  We "pool" that video for everyone because there is only so much room on the bus.

So, I knew all day Friday that the Alaska Governor was going to fly into Huntington and stop in Gallipolis and Marietta before holding a rally in St. Clairsville, Ohio Sunday night.  Our plan was to get on the bus in Huntington and follow the tour up to the rally.

But, a funny thing happened the night before.  American Research Group released the first positive poll on Barack Obama in West Virginia.  It showed the Democrat up 8 points.  That's a stunning turnaround considering John McCain was just up five in early September and neither candidate has paid much attention to us.  Some pundits showed skepticism to this poll because the wide shift and other issues.

But this is where it got crazy.  CNN posted a story on its website Friday afternoon that Palin was making a bus trip through West Virginia and mentioned the recent Obama-tilted poll results.  It made it look as an act of desperation for the McCain-Palin team to swing back to West Virginia to try to pick up this once solid Republican state.  Then, a newspaper's website sent out the same information about Palin's West Virginia swing.  Then the newspaper said there would be no tour through West Virginia.  Sunday, the Associated Press noted that Palin made her first stop to West Virginia a quick one with no remarks at Tri-State airport.  Look folks, the only reason she came to West Virginia is for the airport and to start in our media market, which covers West Virginia and Southern Ohio.  She did get a benefit to starting here, but I really don't see this as part of a West Virginia strategy. 

This string of news bits created a storyline, albeit a false one.  As I see it, these stories made it seem that the McCain-Palin ticket was quick to react and a little disorganized in its structure.  That's a shame though, because that never appeared to me to be the plan.