The Dispatch from Moline, Illinois • 3

I Q-C Area Saturday, November 8, 2008 The Dispatch and The Rock Island Argus A3 Final installment of '07 taxes due Wednesday FINALLY DONE! I lnimf Rock Island County property owners have until Wednesday to pay the fourth, and final installment of 2007 real estate taxes to avoid a penalty If taxes are not paid on time, taxpayers must pay a 1.5 percent penalty for each month payments are late. Payments can be made in person at the Rock Island County Treasurers' Office In the County Office Building at 1504 3rd Rock Island, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., or mailed to the office. Taxes also can be paid at most area banks, except Chase Bank, during normal business hours. When paying at a bank, taxpayers must have their entire statement including stubs.

Area banks will not accept payment after Wednesday. Payments bearing a U.S. postmark up to and including Wednesday will be accepted without penalty. Rock Island County offices will be closed Tuesday to observe Veterans Day Taxes not paid by Dec. 1 will be published in the newspaper as delinquent, with a $10 certified mailing and publication fee added.

After Dec. 1, only cash, cashiers checks, certified checks and money orders will be accepted as payment. For more details, call (309) 558-3510. IS At I The construction is 11111 ii i ii ii i i i ii V1. a 1 us 1 Q-C news alums reflect on election i -it- I 1 i I i i i i mri 8 0 I i ,) i.i X-1-, vaa 1 results though Republicans outnumber registered Democrats by a wide margin, both parties were equally represented in the number of people who took advantage of early voting.

That's intriguing because no Democrat has carried Lake County since FDR in 1944." Former reporter Lore Postman landed in Charlotte, N.C., first with the Observer and now as co-owner of Patrick Schneider Photography and BizWrite Communi cations. "Many of our small-business-owner friends felt torn between voting for the presidential and congressional candidates who seem best posi Lore Postman tioned (i.e. personality, ap-proachability, everyday-man perspective) to heal the coun- See Views, A5 Reporters often have a unique perspective on the campaign, Bill Ruthhart at a Barack Obama rally on the American Legion Bill Ruthhart submitted as illustrated by this photo shot by former Dispatch Argus staffer Mall in downtown Indianapolis, Ind. spotlight. A featured reporter and substitute anchor for CNN's "Lou Dobbs Tonight," she also co-hosts the weekend business show "On The Money" "Now I have seen it all," said Ms.

Romans. "An interview with Anderson Cooper and William via hologram! I have covered three presidential elections for CNN, and this year the technology took my breath away. "This new president has inherited the toughest job since Franklin Delano Roosevelt," Ms. Romans Christine Romans added. "The economic story is just getting started.

The economic news for Americans will likely be grim heading into next year. half million jobs could be lost before the inauguration." Bill Ruthhart, a Rock Island High School graduate, covers politics for the Indianapolis, Star. "For the better part of two months this spring, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama barnstormed through the state, doing everything from drinking beer in bars to holding meetings in barns. Small blue-collar towns and farming communities that rarely Bill Ruthhart had seen a governor suddenly had former President Bill Clinton visiting their high school gymnasiums. "In total, President-elect Obama made 49 campaign stops in the Hoosier state.

I was there for many of them, and the campaign trail took me to corners of the state and introduced me to people and places I never could have imagined. "All along, Hoosiers were thrilled to finally matter, and one theme was consistent: People here were fed up with losing jobs, tired of tightening their belts, and thirsty for someone new to believe in. I watched, time after time, as Obama gave them that belief, speaking from a rusting factory floor, shaking hands at an auto factory's midnight shift change and digging into an omelet while chatting up voters at a country diner. "To most everyone's shock, Li.i-4 I By Roger Ruthhart When Amy Argetsinger left The Dispatch and The Rock Island Argus 13 years ago, Barack Obama was unknown even in Illinois. "What a trajectory," she said this week.

"All year I've found myself thinking, 'What does Denny Jacobs think of Today, as co-author of The Reliable Source column in the Washington Post, Ms. Argetsinger reports on the personalities of Washington, D.C. As the nation reflects on Tuesday's election, we thought it would be interesting to present snapshots from around the country Who better to ask than reporters and editors who once toiled in the Dispatch Argus newsrooms, but today are scattered across the country and the world. "This was the best campaign ever," said Ms. Ar getsinger.

"Even setting aside ail the I historic firsts i and historic first near-misses, it is memorable for the sprawling and colorful cast of characters who Amy Argetsinger never even made it close to the finish line. Mike Huck-abee, a born entertainer (He sings! He plays guitar! He does stand-up comedy!) who surged to the forefront through sheer charisma as much as anything Ron Paul with his unlikely band of youngsters and his campaign blimp Dennis Kucinich with his dry wit and hot wife and total ease with UFOs Mitt Romney with his five Osmond-wholesome sons The inscrutable Cindy McCain and her hilariously overshar-ing blogger daughter Meghan The endless campaign soap opera of Chelsea Clinton (is she being "pimped Can she be asked about Monica?) The appalling John Edwards scandal and his shameless non-apologies Joe Biden and his strange new affect and this is mostly stuff from just the primaries long before we ever discovered Sarah Palin! Love her or hate her, she may be the most fascinating woman on Earth since Princess Diana," Ms. Argetsinger offered. As the economy faltered and became a big campaign issue, Christine Romans, a Pleasant Valley High School graduate, found herself in the ALL STYLES way A that a picture of Obama was a quarter-inch larger than one of McCain." To the east, Ohio also was key in the race for the White House. Randy Rogus- Rebecca Morris ki is a deputy business editor at the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

"Overall, this election has disheartened me. The gullibility of the American voter is dis- 5 rnnraointr Voters seem as willing to spread lies and racism on the Internet as they are to learn the truth from the Randy Roguski newspaper. It makes me worry," he said. "Then I have to wonder: Have people always been this way? Maybe all of the communications tools we have today just make it easier to see what people are really like. Either way it's sad." Up and down the East Coast, the election played out in many ways.

Florida was a key for the Republicans in 2000. At least in his part of the state, Jerry Fallstrom, a former Quad-Cities political writer and now Lake County editor for the Orlando Sentinel, believes that trend continues. "My home on the outskirts of Orlando is far Jerry Fallstrom different politically from the way I remember Rock Island County. Democrats ruled the roost in Rock Island County, but Republicans are king in Lake County, a haven for northern retirees. Folks here who used to be Southern Democrats long ago switched to the GOP," he said.

"Still, even 1 i- bright-red Indiana turned blue. Obama said it would," he said. Jim Meenan saw the same excitement in northern Indiana as a business and community reporter for the South Bend Tribune. "In my lifetime (most in the Quad-Cities) I don't remember an election where people were so keyed up," he admitted. In southern Indiana, Rebecca Morris, metro editor at the Courier Press in Evansville, Jim Meenan agreed it has been fun to see Indiana as a battleground state.

"We had nearly one-third of the registered voters in our primary county vote early People were calling us to passionately agree or disagree with our endorsements, to comment on our editorial cartoons, to even complain once 1 ffm. 1 ALL COLORS 7 mmsnmmoMi OW 11 35Ui SL, Davenport ALSO ON SALE! Windows Siding Entry Doors Storm Doors Gutter Cap CONSTRUCTION INC. (563) 391-4000 1-800-717-3066 vAvvv.suburbanconstruction.com.