Good points.
I believe that those who dismiss the Stern Factor, do so at their peril.
Ohio is considered a true battleground state, perhaps if you believe many pundits, THE battleground state.
Howard Stern OWNS his morning timeslot in Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati. His estimated listenership in Ohio is thought to be 300,000 - 400,000.
More than enough HSV's in Ohio to tilt the scales.
Will Howard be a factor?
You can bet on it.
Stern's audience in the entire state of Ohio is between 800,000 and 1 million.
I am glad SOMEONE else on this thread actually read this article with interest. I don't love Stern but I do listen occasionally, and I don't find him some revolting jerk the way the rest of the posters here seem to. He's no more revolting than others whose livelihoods are threatened (and crushkerry, I'm sorry, but this is something that didn't start until the FCC games began, under Bush--so Bush gets the blame, regardless of who 'did it').
I think Howard is a kneejerk liberal anyway. He's a Bill Maher libertarian, in the sense that he's no libertarian at all. He only cares about government not being in HIS business, not other peoples. He would NEVER have been actually PRO-Bush this election regardless. But this constant anti-Bush haranguing will depress male LIKELY Bush voters' turnout, which is something that hasn't been discussed, and certainly dampen the enthusiasm of those on the fence.
I know Bush can make no efforts toward mending things with Stern, with his concerns about his getting his base to vote still out there (without gay marriage on the table, conservatives would have little to crow about over the Bush presidency). But this is a prime example of someone who should NOT have been pissed on. Janet Jackson should have been fined thousands, as should every Superbowl-showin' station. But Stern...no way. He's been doing exactly this show for years, and his antics are now grandfathered in, in my view.
The middle-of-the-road voter who hates government but doesn't care if Stern is on the radio is the voter who will probably drive this election, and I think it hurts to have Stern against Bush, contrary to all the 'Stern's only on three stations' bullshit spewed on here. He is an influential man, if not one you approve of. And it's always stupid to butt heads with someone who owns a demographic the way Stern does.