Heartland USA
Dayton, Ohio, is in the heart of middle America. It's the home of the Wright brothers, the cash register, and the man who invented the flip-top beer can. Its voters know that in next Tuesday's Presidential election their town and their state are part of the real battleground. President Carter and Ronald Reagan know that they will win or lose in the Big Six industrial states of the north-east. Ohio is key among them and four years ago Carter won it by only 11,000 votes of 4 million cast.
In a local theatre, David Dimbleby talks to the people of Dayton about the choice they will make, crucial for them and for the rest of us. Gore Vidal , novelist and acerbic observer of American politics, offers his personal view of the candidates.
Producers JANE DRABBLE and HELEN JENKINS
Editor JOHN REYNOLDS
(Night of Decision: Tuesday BBC1)
Election reports and background on Ceefax