Ohio Governor Debate

Last night in Columbus, the first of two televised debates took place between Democratic Governor Ted Strickland and Republican nominee John Kasich. This debate was only televised in the Columbus area (which I have a little problem with, since I don't live in Columbus, but that's another post). I was able to catch some TV highlights from the local TV news station down there.

It's always interesting seeing how the campaign messages are structured. The incumbent governor is taking the Wall Street Vs Main Street approach to appeal to his constituents (quote below from an article from the Columbus Dispatch)

My opponent has worked on Wall Street while I was here in Ohio fighting to create jobs," Strickland said. "He worked for Lehman Brothers, a big company that manipulated and lied and acted unethically, and cost Ohio pensions over $400 million. While they were going into bankruptcy, two years ago tomorrow my opponent was getting a $400,000 bonus. This is a question of Wall Street values versus Ohio values.

On the other side of the isle, the former congressman is focusing on the state's economy and the loss and lack of jobs to get his message out:

Governor, we've lost 382,000 jobs on your watch. You promised to turn Ohio around and you failed and you want to blame everybody else. You've got to learn to accept personal responsibility.... If I'd lost 382,000 jobs, I'd engage in the politics of distraction as well...If you can't sell your own record, you attack the other guy. But you know what, I'm not distracted.

I have always disliked the term "bell weather state" in the description of Ohio politics - meaning that, the way that Ohio state elections go (whether it be for democrats or republicans) - sometimes being predictive of how national elections may go.

I don't do a lot of political commentary, but this 2010 US national election cycle is going to be an important one. So, even though it's not a US presidential election year, I encourage everybody to at least learn about some of the important issues on a local, state and national level. The first step at change is making yourself aware of what is going out there. And, I guess this post is to help me a little with that...