EAU CLAIRE, Wis. — Making a major detour on the campaign trail, Vice President Dick Cheney (search) on Sunday night will rally voters in Hawaii (search) where just two Republicans have ever won the state in a presidential race.

The Bush-Cheney campaign says Hawaii is within reach and that every electoral vote is worth fighting for, or in Hawaii's case, four electoral votes.

"We are competitive in the state; this is a very close race," said Cheney spokeswoman Anne Womack who announced the surprise visit Thursday night.

Gov. Linda Lingle (search), Hawaii's first Republican governor in four decades, said the Cheney appearance is a response to polls showing Bush and John Kerry neck and neck, a remarkable turn of events in a state that Democrat Al Gore won by 18 percentage points in 2000.

Democrats say Sen. John Kerry still has an edge over the president.

With the lowest unemployment rate in the nation, Hawaii has none of the economic problems that many states on the mainland have. The islands are in the midst of a construction boom. Tourism is soaring after recovering from the Sept. 11 attacks.

Ten thousand Hawaii-based U.S. troops are at war in Afghanistan and Iraq, making the military vote in a time of war a strong potential force for an incumbent Republican president.

Interesting to see how well the state of Hawaii is doing under this administration. Unemployment down, housing industry booming, nearly half the population leaning towards Bush.

Its because its one of the few tropical places you can travel while still remaining on US soil.....since everyone else hates us now.....thanks to Bush!

Its because its one of the few tropical places you can travel while still remaining on US soil.....since everyone else hates us now.....thanks to Bush!


.....So, everything would be rosy for you if the French, Germans, and Russians agreed with our decisions and gave us their blessing ahead of time. **** em all!!! All of the Euro trash would be speaking German if it wasn't for us. We contribute more to worldwide aides funding, helpng the underpriveledged, and protecting the weak than any nation on earth. If you don't like it then carry your ass. I suppose you like the idea of a global test before we even take a ****. You would probably approve of a world government too.

Interesting to see how well the state of Hawaii is doing under this administration. Unemployment down, housing industry booming, nearly half the population leaning towards Bush.
It's because Japanese tourism is up. Noyhing to do with Bush

It's because Japanese tourism is up. Noyhing to do with Bush


...I suspect that if the economy was in the ****ter it would be Bush's fault though. You can't have it both ways. I also wasn't aware that the Japanese controlled monetary decisions and influenced Greenspan and the Fed.

Japanese tourists spend ****loads of money here. It's money flowing in the economy that keeps an economy afloat. If the Japanese stayed home, this would be more like a third world country with good roads.

Japanese tourists spend ****loads of money here. It's money flowing in the economy that keeps an economy afloat. If the Japanese stayed home, this would be more like a third world country with good roads.
Dude, do you just make this **** up? C'mon man, level with us.
;)

nope. you can't swing a dead cat here without hitting a group of Japanese tourists.

Hawaii has only 2 industries. Road construction/repair and tourism. There is honestly no heavy industry or real agriculture here.

The Japanese make up over 55% of all tourists here with the rest of the world making up nearly another 20%. that leaves about 25% of tourists coming from the US. These figures have not changed more than a couple of points in the last decade.

If you're going to try to call me out on something at least research it a little yourself. My girlfriend is a statistician for a private company that does a lot of its work for the state tourism board.

I can dig it, the reason I asked was, road construction is not really what I would call an industry. Its more like a tax dollar black hole. Unless they have the best concrete and asphalt guys in the world, and fly all over paving roads...**** I dont know? :D

oh, and back on topic. regarding the polls, the numbers honestly don't make sense. At the beginning of sept the numbers were about 60% kerry, 30% Bush. Hawaii has almost always been a purely democratic state. The only thing I can think of that closed the gap so fast is that the pollsters are not asking the right questions to qualify for people who actually vote here and the numbers are more heavily weighted with military people who vote in other states.

I could be wrong (see, George, it's not that hard!!), but it really doesn't make sense.

nope. you can't swing a dead cat here without hitting a group of Japanese tourists.

Hawaii has only 2 industries. Road construction/repair and tourism. There is honestly no heavy industry or real agriculture here.

The Japanese make up over 55% of all tourists here with the rest of the world making up nearly another 20%. that leaves about 25% of tourists coming from the US. These figures have not changed more than a couple of points in the last decade.

If you're going to try to call me out on something at least research it a little yourself. My girlfriend is a statistician for a private company that does a lot of its work for the state tourism board.




.......What about???

For nearly a century, agriculture was the state's leading economic activity. It provided Hawaii's major sources of employment, tax revenues, and new capital through exports of raw sugar and other farm products. However, with statehood in 1959 and the almost simultaneous introduction of passenger jet airplanes, the tourist industry began to grow rapidly. Within a decade the tourist industry became the state's largest economic activity. Today, agriculture is still an important part of Hawaii's economic mix and sugar is still the second largest single crop grown in value with the largest acreage. In addition to sugar, molasses and electricity are produced. The growers primarily burn bagasse to generate electricity. The industry's use of renewable, biomass energy has helped Hawaii to retain its leadership in alternate energy production.

That article is old. There is not a single sugar mill left on this island. Dole is the only company to till grow pineapples here, and they use less than 100 acres to do so. It's cheaper to import pineapples from Tahiti than it is to grow them here.

That article is old. There is not a single sugar mill left on this island. Dole is the only company to till grow pineapples here, and they use less than 100 acres to do so. It's cheaper to import pineapples from Tahiti than it is to grow them here.


....wow, that sucks.

just so you know, there is sugar planted on Maui, but it accounts for only 6% of all sugar processed in the US, even with a 12 month growing cycle. we are 4th in sugar production in the US. Pity there are only 5 sugar states.

You would think that with most of the population concentrated in a very small portion of the island, and with a perfect temperate climate, agriculture would boom here. And it would, but the people are stupid. It actually costs more to buy locally grown produce than it costs to buy produce from the mainland. Part of the reason is the Union strangleold on Hawaii. For my part, I don't understand paying someone to tell me when I'm getting ****ed. I generally know it, and move on to the next job.
The other part, and this is speculation only on my part, is the way landowners here figure the value of their produce.
I own 100 acres. If Hilton were to decide to buy my land for a resort, the selling price would be about $20 million. Now, if I plant that land with tomoatoes, I can yield about 24,000 lbs per acre. That's 2.4 million lbs. Now, if I divide $20 million, by 2.4 million I arrive with a figure of $8.33 /lb for the tomatoes. Wait. That's a little high. Why don't I just charge $4.99/lb for my tomatoes and we'll call it even.

Part of the reason is the Union strangleold on Hawaii. For my part, I don't understand paying someone to tell me when I'm getting ****ed. I generally know it, and move on to the next job.


....Yeah, unions had their use way back when but now it seems like one big joke for the most part.

Part of the reason is the Union strangleold on Hawaii. For my part, I don't understand paying someone to tell me when I'm getting ****ed. I generally know it, and move on to the next job.


....Yeah, unions had their use way back when but now it seems like one big joke for the most part.
I couldn't agree more. In my job we are represented by a union. I dont belong, in fact only a little over 10 percent of people in my department are either. The thing I hate about being represented by a union is, If I bust my ass at work. The boss takes notice and says I deserve a raise, guess what. I dont get one! Only the union can allow any changes in the employment benifits through contract negotiation.

Only the union can allow any changes in the employment benifits through contract negotiation.
My favorite thing about Unions:

you and I work side by side, doing the exact same job. You were hired a month before me.

I bust my ass and my production is about 30% higher than yours, I'm never late, I make an effort to learn more about our production techniques and other jobs on the line.
You snap together your pieces, have been late a few times, and do just enough to continue getting a paycheck.

A notice is posted for a better, higher paying position. We both put in our requests for this position. You are selected because you have seniority. I have to wait on the next posting, even though I'm a better worker than you.

This goes on all across the country and generally gives Union employees an attitude of, "Why work harder than I have to?", slowing production and making US products less competitive in the world market, driving up costs for the consumer and driving up costs for the employers where they can't afford to hire more people or expand the plant and maintain a decent profit margin.

Sorry, Unions are for losers. There are laws in place now to address the issues that brought unions into existence. The biggest argument I hear for unions is, "I wouldn't have health coverage if it wasn't for my Union!".
Well, here in Hawaii the law requires all employers to provide healthcare for any employee working more that 20 hours per week. We have the widest overage in the nation.
Want to know how much my health plan costs me? $197.53 per month.
This plan includes:
$5 prescription copays
$8 per visit doctors appointments (the $8 also covers any lab work ordered on the visit)
2 pairs of eyeglasses per year (I have 20/10 vision and hope to never use that)
80% coverage for psychiatric. Despite what my friends say, I DON'T NEED THIS!!
80% coverage for Holistic medications

I'm part of a self-employed group plan. Large companies pay even less per month.

Sorry, Unions are for losers. There are laws in place now to address the issues that brought unions into existence. The biggest argument I hear for unions is, "I wouldn't have health coverage if it wasn't for my Union!".
Well, here in Hawaii the law requires all employers to provide healthcare for any employee working more that 20 hours per week. We have the widest overage in the nation.


....That's exactly right!!! There was a time and place for unions and that time has passed.