Political Observations In Mark Twain's Hometown [audio 5 min 58 sec]
On a recent day in Hannibal, Mo., the boyhood hometown of Mark Twain, the Mississippi River was running fast and muddy, with some chop — a fitting metaphor for the final stage of the presidential campaign.
The author, whose real name was Samuel Clemens, once wrote, "If we would learn what the human race really is at bottom, we need only observe it in election times."
So in the week before the election, NPR traveled through Missouri as part of a series of stops along the Mississippi River to take the depth of voters.
The bellwether state of Missouri has voted for the winner of every presidential election since 1904, with the exception of 1956. The latest polls show Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain in a dead heat here.
Read entire article at National Public Radio: All Things Considered
The author, whose real name was Samuel Clemens, once wrote, "If we would learn what the human race really is at bottom, we need only observe it in election times."
So in the week before the election, NPR traveled through Missouri as part of a series of stops along the Mississippi River to take the depth of voters.
The bellwether state of Missouri has voted for the winner of every presidential election since 1904, with the exception of 1956. The latest polls show Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain in a dead heat here.