“He’s Wounded”
Last Friday, Gov. Strickland signed into law a 3,120 page, $50,500,000,000 budget for which he’ll get criticized by Republican gubernatorial candidate John Kasich. Here’s the most sobering line in the article:
“The budget has not been a plus for him,” said Jerry Austin, a Cleveland-based Democratic consultant. “He’s wounded.”
Mark Caleb Smith is of the opposite opinion:
“I don’t think Strickland is leaving much room for attack,” said Mark Caleb Smith, director of the Center for Political Studies at Cedarville University.
“Politically, this is like a boxer fighting a tall opponent with longer arms. The best hope for victory is to get close and take away your opponent’s advantage. Strickland’s choices have the potential to take away many of the Republicans’ traditional arguments.”
There are several reasons why I’m not buying into Smith’s arguments. First, let me say that he’s right in most races. The biggest reason why I agree with Mr. Austin is because John Kasich isn’t a cookie-cutter politician who’s only chance for victory is by exciting ‘the base’. Kasich’s charismatic appeal will help him enlarge the Ohio GOP’s base. FOOTNOTE: A Kasich victory will definitely hurt President Obama’s chances of winning that state in 2012.
The other reason I’m not buying this opinion is because Gov. Strickland has to run for re-election during tough economic times. Gov. Strickland’s been in charge for almost three years. He can’t avoid being blamed for the economy. What’s he gonna say? I was here but I didn’t have an impact?
Good luck selling re-election with that slogan.
Technorati Tags: Ohio, Ted Strickland, Recession, Economy, Budgets, Democrats, John Kasich, Tax Cuts, Republicans, Election 2010
Cross-posted at LetFreedomRingBlog