With the presidential campaigns focused squarely on "battleground states" such as Florida and Ohio, Nebraska is getting scant attention. It's not just that the Cornhusker

State has only five electoral votes. There's also no doubt where they're headed: directly to the Bush-Cheney column. Nebraska has voted Republican in every presidential race since

1968. But that doesn't mean the voters in Nebraska are unconcerned with national events. The townspeople of Broken Bow have seen several neighbors go off to fight in Afghanistan or

Iraq. Economic concerns are reflected in the recent closing of the Ben Franklin variety store. And such events are discussed on a regular basis, as groups of longtime friends gather at the