Local, National Issues Combine to Impact Arkansas Elections

MOUNTAIN HOME, Ark. -- Voters here, like in most places, will be thinking about the economy, the Iraq war and health care when they go to the polls Nov. 4. But in Mountain Home, they'll also be thinking about a proposed hike in the 8% sales tax to pay for an indoor swimming pool in Cooper Park.

The pool's a big topic in this small Ozarks city of 11,000. It's an example of how national issues can influence local concerns and of how people across the USA will have more on their minds than presidential nominees Barack Obama and John McCain when they go to vote.