Did politics play a role in closings?

Did politics play a role in closings?: "Dennis Kucinich, one of those Congress members who doesn't shy from criticizing the president, is convinced that politics must have played a role.

'This administration has basically told Northern Ohio to go to hell,' the West Side Democrat said after the base realignment recommendations came out Friday.

Given the red state/blue state animosity over recent presidential elections, many others may view the base closing recommendation through a partisan lens, despite the Pentagon's vow to keep politics out.

'You can look at any state, you're going to have red, green, blue, yellow, you're going to have all sorts of things,' said Tom Schatz, president of Citizens Against Government Waste, a watchdog group that applauds the attempt to cut spending.

Anyone looking for conspiracies can find them: Texas, the home of Bush as well as House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, stands to gain more than 6,500 military-related jobs.

Florida, where Bush's brother is governor, will add 2,757 jobs. And despite Cleveland's loss, Ohio - which put Bush over the top in the 2004 election - will have an overall gain."