Ruth Sheehan’s column this morning raises a perennial campaign complaint: “The Democrats/Republicans are stealing our yard signs!”

No campaign manager has ever escaped getting that call.

Yard signs are the bane of a campaign. They cost money, and no political pro believes they do any good. But any candidate – as well as his or her family and all their supporters – firmly believe that the candidate who has the most yard signs wins.

I got to where I believed the most important person in the campaign was the guy in charge of putting up signs along the road the candidate took to the rally.

But everything else about this year is different, so maybe it’s a different story on yard signs too.

Case in point: My neighborhood. I live in North Ridge, near the country club. It’s one of the most conservative Republican precincts in the county. But I have seen more Obama signs this year than I have ever seen before for any Democratic candidate, let alone presidential candidate.

When Obama signs pop up in a neighborhood like that, something weird is happening.

And wherever yard signs are, tales of sign-sealing are sure to follow. We got an email from the local neighborhood association this week reporting that a white pickup truck was spotted driving around and taking Obama signs. Not in the dark of night, but in the middle of the afternoon!

But it seems that, whenever a sign disappears, the resident puts up another.

That’s dedication. Especially since campaigns got smart and started charging people for signs. Used to be, most signs – and bumper stickers – ended up in somebody’s trunk or garage.

By the way, a warning to anyone who takes our sign: We have an extra in the garage.

Click Here to discuss and comment on this and other articles.