Texas campaign journal

LAREDO

Omaba-mania not everywhere (Monday, 2:13 p.m.)

In this border city, it seems that the late U.S. Speaker Tip O'Neill was correct: All politics is local.

At least if yard signs are any reliable indicator.

Granted, a couple of young adults drew an appreciative horn honk as they walked past Martin High School hoisting "Hillary" signs aloft. But other than that, signs expressing preference for one presidential candidate or another are about as scarce as snowmobiles.

Local political signs? That's another matter. Candidates and their backers have plastered nearly every corner -- in residential and commercial areas -- with signs stating their preference. For county attorney. Sheriff. Commissioner. Constable. Justice of the peace. Tax assessor. Collector.

One more city in the grip of presidential politics fever? Not so much.

SAN ANTONIO

Courting independence (Sunday, 2:01 p.m.)

Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton dominate the national news, but here in Texas it's also Independence Day.

Nowhere does that mean more than in the heart of this old city. While some tourists enjoy a mild and misty stroll along the city's Riverwalk, with its towering trees and outdoor dining, tourists a few blocks north pour into the restored Alamo.

Guides and pictoral displays tell how Texans declared independence from Mexico on March 2, 1836. Four days later a handful of courageous Texans and frontiersmen, including Sam Bowie, William Barret Travis and Davy Crockett, battled to the end before being overrun by Mexican General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna.

Just weeks later, Texan troops under Sam Houston's command engineered a surprise strategic move to defeat the Mexican army and seal the bid for independence.

And here -- 172 years later -- "Remember the Alamo" still resonates.

DALLAS

Good time to be a Dem (Friday, 12:21 p.m.)

Any Texan will tell you it's great that their primary vote matters -- finally. They're accustomed to all presidential choices being made by the time their early-March primary arrives.

But they can thank legislative gridlock for making their votes truly pivotal this time.

The Texas House passed a measure a few months back that would have moved the primary to Feb. 5, Super Tuesday, the same day that Illinois held its primary in hopes of being more relevant to the outcome. But the initiative bogged down and died in the Texas state Senate.

The result?

"It's a darned good time to be a Democrat in Texas," Democratic state Sen. Leticia Van de Putte tells us. "We finally have a date to the prom."

DALLAS

Dallas has one edge over Chicago (Friday, 12:21 p.m.)

Chicago is the nation's third-largest metropolitan area; Dallas-Fort Worth the fourth.

One difference?

The sports-talk radio guys down here are posing this question to listeners: Which team is more likely to bring a title this year the city: the Mavericks or the Stars?

Anyone back home asking that question about the Bulls and Blackhawks today?

DALLAS

Shaming our great plains (Friday, 12:21 p.m.)

How big is the nation's second biggest state in terms of territory?

So big that you could fit Illinois into Texas four times and have plenty of room left over.

So big that folks in Stratford, Texas, way up north, are closer to five other state capitals than they are to their own state government in Austin.

Topeka, Oklahoma City, Denver, Santa Fe and Cheyenne are all closer.

FORT WORTH

Obama or not, Fort Worth a model town (Friday, 12:21 p.m.)

Any city that's looking to pump vibrancy into its traditional downtown ought to check out Fort Worth.

True, several thousand people attending a Barack Obama rally will inject energy into any town.

But besides that, downtown Fort Worth is a gem. Along with the convention center is a classy performing arts center and Sundance Square, 20 square blocks of restaurants, along with a variety of bars featuring live music and open-mic nights.

The entire area is pedestrian friendly and, shockingly, parking is available.

Of course, it also helps to have balmy breezes instead of snow in late February.

IRVING

Is Texas turning blue (Friday, 12:21 p.m.)

What? It's not challenging enough for a first-time visitor to get from airport to hotel?

Apparently not in suburban Irving, Texas, where new arrivals still trying to find the rental car's dome light also get to figure out horizontal traffic lights -- everywhere.

Yeah, this isn't unique to Irving. But it's still weird -- and confusing at first. A primer for anyone planning to fly into Dallas. In a five-light traffic light box, the sequence, from left to right is: red, yellow, yellow arrow, green arrow and, on the far right, green.

One other thing. Every turn from airport to hotel was a left turn. Hmm. Signs of a red state starting to turn blue?