Michael O'Brien writes at The Hill that Obama and House Republican spoiler, John Boehner, are fighting for Ohio. Obama tends to win the war of words with the Boner.
...Obama has appeared to enjoy teasing Boehner from time to time in Washington, such as when he described the bronzed minority leader as a “person of color”...
The Boner spends much of the time he isn't tanning or socializing over drinks in attacking the White House. He doesn't seem to be very smart.
He has pilloried the president’s handling of the economy, an issue that resonates in Ohio, where unemployment has more than doubled from 5 percent in May 2007 to 10.5 percent in June 2010.
He doesn't seem to be very smart.
Boehner and the White House also sparred Wednesday over whether new regulations issued by the administration are pulling down the economy. In response to a request from Boehner for a list of all pending regulations that could have a cost to the economy of more than $1 billion, the Office of Management and Budget in a letter to Boehner said regulations issued under Obama had a $3.1 billion positive impact on the economy.
Smart Ohioans know our economic disaster hit in well before Obama arrived at the White House. Plus, they've chosen some very solid Democratic candidates to run against (for example) ol' John Kasich who (among other things) went up against Clinton's economic policy. Clintonomics left our economy in the black -- which no Republican has managed to do since forever.
So much for John Kasich. If he's so good, why is Ohio suffering so much from the Bush recession?
What the Hill doesn't mention is the possibility that Ohioans, to the extent that they are willing to countenance people like Rob Portman as Lt. Governor, may be getting some bad information. After all, Portman is no better than Kasich. He was Bush's budget director -- not someone who should be allowed to work in situations where economic decisions are made. Does Ohio know about Portman's earlier job, or are they into self-flagellation?
Well, every now and then, reality hits Republicans like a pie in the face. Ohio deserves better representation, preferably from guys whose faces aren't dripping old meringue.