Eye on Ohio

The Cleveland Plain Dealer:

Ohio's primary election is over and change won the day in the race for governor.

Republicans made history by nominating Secretary of State Ken Blackwell, a black conservative who campaigned with the religious right and against Republican Gov. Bob Taft, rather than as his heir-apparent.

Democrats tested history by tapping Ted Strickland, a congressman from Appalachia - even though a congressman hasn't moved to the governor's mansion for nearly a century and an Appalachian hasn't won the top job since Jim Rhodes.

Taft was a big-spender and tainted by a corruption scandal. Who would want to be his heir apparent? But the race is not over yet:

A recent Plain Dealer poll showing Strickland with a 10-point lead over Blackwell offers little comfort to Jim Ruvolo, a former chairman of the Ohio Democratic Party.

"We can't underestimate Ken Blackwell," Ruvolo said. "Ken Blackwell has shown that he is a smart and charismatic guy. He's also a right-wing kook and we have to make sure people understand that he's a right-wing kook."

One clear example of Blackwell's extreme views, Ruvolo said, is his proposed constitutional amendment to cap government spending.

This is what passes for kookiness according to the Democrat Party in Ohio, a party which boasts of former loony left presidential candidate and current Rep. Dennis Kucinich, former Rep. James "Beam me up" Traficant (actually I liked Traficant, even though he was a crook), and former talk show host and mayor of Cincinnati Jerry Springer as members. In 2004 Springer was named Democrat of the Year by the Ohio Party.

Here is Ken Blackwell's website. You be the judge.