HONOR -- Political yard signs advertise which candidates the homeowner supports, but they don't tell the whole story.
A blue, 4-foot-by-8-foot board with the names "McCain" and "Palin" stands out along a rustic stretch of M-22 near Long Lake between Empire and Frankfort in Benzie County.
It's perched at the driveway of Tom and Kathy Stocklen, who ardently support small government and less regulation, ideals they said dovetail with the Republican party.
Republican Sen. John McCain and his running mate Sarah Palin have their vote in the presidential election.
"He's got a good track record, he's a fighter, and he's not socialist," said Kathy Stocklen.
The Stocklens, both 64, own Riverside Canoe Trips on the Platte River in Honor, inside the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.
About 18 years ago, the National Park Service attempted to condemn the Stocklens' property after they refused to sign a restrictive-use agreement, but in 1992 Republican politicians helped the Stocklens win their fight over private property rights.
"The Republican party is staunchly for the private property rights, as opposed to the Democrats who want to take your property," Tom Stocklen said.
His other major reason for supporting McCain is for his potential appointments to the Supreme Court.
"More and more courts are becoming legislating law, instead of interpreting it," he said.
About 60 miles east of the large McCain sign at the Stocklens' home, a more modest homemade sign announces "Obama" and "Biden" as one Kalkaska resident's choice.
Betty White, 84, made the sign that supports Democrat Sen. Barack Obama and his running mate Joe Biden.
Since then, neighbors have offered her professionally printed signs, and she added one of those to the handful of local Democratic candidate signs on her yard.
"He's fresh, and he's going to be able to do something for the country," she said.
White is retired from the automotive industry and has been involved in local Democratic groups.
She hopes Obama can help with social security and health insurance, especially since she and her husband had to give up their health insurance around the beginning of the year.
"It got so expensive, so we're just using our Medicare and we have to pay the extra," she said.
The tough economy is the biggest issue for voters, White said. One of her sons-in-law was living in Traverse City, but had to move to Tennessee to find work in the tiling industry.
And as for her support of a black president, coming from someone who grew up during times of racial segregation:
"No problem, it's gotta change sometime," she said.
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