All kinds of fun can be had at the North Carolina State Fair. You can watch pig races, chomp steak-on-a-stick and marvel at Sampson the Giant Horse. Both kinds of politics are also on offer. The Republican booth, with an elephant sign hanging from the ceiling and attractive female volunteers, is even more crowded than the cake-baking contest next door. Scott Daughtry, a retired park ranger in overalls and a straw hat, asks for a bumper-sticker for his pickup. He's backing John McCain because the Arizona senator "thinks murdering little babies is not a good idea".rnThe Republican vote-mobilising machine is still pretty good at the things it has always done well. Its operators know all the traditional ways to reach conservative voters. Give them a state fair packed with white southerners, gun-owners and married couples with children, and they do an expert job of putting leaflets into sympathetic hands.rnBy contrast, the Democrats at the fair seem out of their comfort zone. They have hardly any stickers to hand out, having read and taken literally an obscure rule barring the practice. Their booth attracts few punters.
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