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Home > Blogs > Ohio politics > Archives > 2008 > January
January 2008
Voinovich blasts Strickland lottery expansion plan
U.S. Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, a former governor, is leading the charge againt Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland’s plan to help close Ohio’s budget shortfall by expanding the state lottery.
Strickland said Thursday he hopes to raise $73 million by putting electronic versions of Keno and other games in bars and other locations. Keith Dailey, Strickland’s spokesman, said the governor doesn’t consider this an expansion of gambling but an expansion of the the state lottery, which has been approved by voters.
Voinovich, governor from1991-1998, disagreed, referring to rejections of casino gambling at the ballot box.
“The people have spoken and roundly defeated gambling in Ohio - with this governor’s help,” Voinovich said in a prepared statement.
“This is in no way an expansion of the lottery. From a public policy standpoint, I urge the legislature to reject this idea and do what I did when I was governor in this situation, which was to work harder and smarter and do more with less.
“This would be a foot in the door for full-blown gambling and, once that happens, Katie bar the door.”
Kucinich’s withdrawal may draw Nader into the 08 race
After Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich withdrew from the presidential race, 2000 spoiler Ralph Nader started buzzing that he may get in the race.
According to ABC News, Nader (right) has formed an exploratory committee and may run if he can get enough money to get on most state ballots.
“When Kucinich threw in the towel, now you have Edwards gone — who’s going to carry the torch of democratic populism against the relentless domination of powerful corporations of our government,” Nader told ABC News.
Caucus backs Obama
The Ohio Legislative Black Caucus announced Monday it was endorsing Sen. Barack Obama.
The group voted last week to support and assist Obama in his campaign in Ohio. Ohio’s primary is set for March 4.
“Sen. Barack Obama has the vision and character to make an excellent president of the United States,” said state Rep. Tyrone Yates, D-Cincinnati. “No one can doubt that he has the background, experience, judgment and skill to lead the American people.”
Obama’s earliest supporters in the state include state Sen. Eric Kearney, D-Cincinnati, whose wife attended law school with Obama.
In a statement announcing its endorsement, the caucus said it will provide “organizational resources and experience to the Obama for America campaign to aggressively reach out to Ohio voters.” The resources, the release said, include but are not limited to use of mailing and phone lists, volunteers, fundraising and campaign consultation.
The caucus is only the latest to weigh in on the Democratic race. Both Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher and Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland have endorsed Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y.
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Local officials cool to Brunner’s election plan
Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner asked local election officials what they thought of her proposal to replace electronic touch-screen voting machines with paper ballots read by optical scanners.
They told her through a survey Brunner conducted. The proposal is for the 57 counties - including Montgomery, Greene, Miami, Darke and Butler - that now use touch-screen machines.
58 percent of the officials from those counties who responded to the survey said they didn’t want to switch even if the money - an estimated $31 million - is available to cover the costs. 31 percent responded yes and the rest didn’t answer the question.
Brunner conducted the survey after a $1.9 million study she commissioned found “critical security failures” with Ohio’s electronic voting systems. In the survey, 71 percent responded “no” when asked if they had any concerns as a result of the study and 27 percent responded “yes”, with the rest not responding to the question.
The survey results follow a report from the Ohio Association of Election Officials, which has members from the 88 county boards of election, that said the decision to replace the machines should be left to each county.
“Change is difficult for many people and our election officials seem to be struggling with our recommendations to move to optical scan paper ballots to provide more security and accountability for Ohio’s election system,” Brunner said in a prepared statement.
Brunner made the proposal after a $1.9 million study she commissioned found “critical security failures” with Ohio’s electronic voting systems. She continues to meet with Gov. Ted Strickland and legislative leaders on this proposal and others stemming from the study.
Do you think the counties should be required to replace the touch-screen machines?
Kucinich to drop out of presidential race
According to the Associated Press, Democratic Congressman Dennis Kucinich, D-Cleveland, told The Plain Dealer’s editorial board Thursday that he is dropping out of the presidential race.
The former Cleveland mayor will hold a news conference Friday. “I will be announcing that I’m transiting out of the presidential campaign,” Kucinich said. “I’m making that announcement tomorrow about a new direction.”
He said he will not endorse another Democrat in the presidential primary. Kucinich, 61, has received little support in his second long-shot run for the presidency. He registers in low single digits in polls and had raised little money. He got 1 percent of the vote in the New Hampshire primary and was shut out in the Iowa caucuses.
Kucinich is facing four challengers in the March 4 Democratic congressional primary in his northeast Ohio district. Opponent Joe Cimperman has been critical of Kucinich for focusing too much time outside the district while campaigning for president.
Fisher endorsement draws GOP flak
Nobody’s paid this much attention to Lee Fisher since Fisher ran for governor in 1998.
When Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign announced Wednesday that Fisher, now lieutenant governor, had endorsed Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination, the endorsement got blasted by Republicans in both Ohio and Washington, D.C.
State Rep. Kevin DeWine, R-Fairborn, deputy chairman of the Ohio Republican Party, fired out a press release that said it was “ironic, but not surprising that the lieutenant governor would endorse a candidate who favors $800 billion in new government spending on the same day his administration says Ohio is facing a fiscal emergency.”
Blair Latoff, spokesman for the Republican National Committee, said in a separate release that Clinton’s campaign “must be hoping that Lt. Gov. Fisher’s endorsement goes more smoothly that Gov. (Ted) Strickland’s Iowa tour” and that it’s unlikely Fisher would be able to defend Clinton’s “shifty political calculations.” Strickland had been criticized for criticizing the Iowa caucuses.
The Clinton campaign on Thursday fired back in an e-mail, specifically responding to DeWine: “It is ironic that a party that squandered a $5 trillion surplus would lecture others about fiscal responsibility. Unlike the Bush administration and the past Republican Congress, Sen. Clinton has said exactly how she would pay for each of her initiatives.”
No doubt there’s more to come from all sides.
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Local fire department gets Homeland Security funds
Today, U.S. Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, announced that three Ohio fire departments, including Harrison Township, will receive a total of $269,061 from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security through the Assistance to Firefighters Grants Program. The Harrison Twp. Department will receive $43,650. The two other departments receiving funds are in Euclid, near Cleveland, and Salineville, near Canton. “Our firefighters need the proper resources to protect their communities,” Voinovich said in a statement. “These funds will help Ohio’s first responders carry out their vital missions.” Voinovich is a member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, which oversees the Deparment of Homeland Security.
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(Bill) Clinton heads for Ohio
Former President Bill Clinton, who’s been spending most of his time recently campaigning for his wife Hillary in South Carolina, heads for Ohio next week to raise money for Hillary’s presidential campaign.
The former president is scheduled to be in Valley View, a Cleveland suburb, on Tuesday for the 5 p.m. fundraiser at the Dante Restaurant. The cost: $2,300 to be a “sponsor” and $1,000 to be an “attendee.”
Gov. Ted Strickland, Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher and U.S. Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, D-Cleveland, are hosting the event.
Hobson gets love from peace, security groups
Just on the heels of getting named “2007 Arms Control Person of the Year,” by the Arms Control Association, Rep. David Hobson just racked up another honor: an award from a coalition of peace and security organizations for eliminating funding for the Bush Administration’s Reliable Replacement Warhead Program.
Hobson, R-Springfield, shared the first honor with Rep. Pete Visclosky, D-Ind., his chairman on the House Appropriations Committee’s Energy and Water Development subcommittee. But the latter honor he’s sharing with Visclosky, Sens. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D. and Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif. He’ll be honored at a reception Thursday.
They’re receiving the award because of Congress’s 2007 decision to reject a Bush administration proposal to develop a new generation of nuclear weapons. Hobson, ranking Republican on the House Energy and Water Development Appropriations Subcommittee and chairman Visclosky led the initial efforts to de-fund the program. In the Senate, Dorgan concurred.
Feinstein, meanwhile, authored the “Nuclear Policy and Posture Review Act” which delayed funding for the Reliable Replacement Warhead program until a nuclear posture and policy review could be conducted.
Organizers sponsoring the awards include: Alliance for Nuclear Accountability; Arms Control Advocacy Collaboration; Arms Control Association; British American Security Information Council; Peace Action West; Council for a Livable World; Friends Committee on National Legislation (Quakers): Global Greens USA; Peace Action Education Fund; Physicians for Social Responsibility; Union of Concerned Scientists; and Women’s Action Fund for New Directions.
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Chamber opposes sick leave bill
The Ohio Chamber of Commerce has come out firing against proposed legislation to require that Ohio workers in companies with 25 or more employees be able to earn seven paid sick days per year.
“Mandated paid leave would come at a significant cost to employers, and these costs would have to be made up elsewhere, perhaps through reduced wages or reductions in paid benefits,” Andrew E. Doehrel, chamber president, said in a press release.
The proposal is before the legislature now but could end up on the November ballot.
Backers of the legislation - a coalition of labor, religious and social action groups - gathered enough signatures to send the bill to the legislature. If the legislature doesn’t act within four months, the coalition can put the issue on the November ballot by gathering an additional 120,683 valid signatures from registered voters.
Dale Butland, coalition spokesman, disagreed with Doehrel. Butland said studies have shown that the proposal could result in a small net savings for businesses because of faster recuperation time for workers and other factors.
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Fisher endorses Clinton
Ohio Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher has endorsed Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination for president.
Since Fisher’s boss, Gov.Ted Strickland, already has endorsed Clinton, that probably isn’t a big surprise.
Fisher’s connection to the Clintons - Hillary and Bill - goes back a few years. Fisher was Bill Clinton’s Ohio campaign chairman in 1992 when Bill was elected to his first term as president.
In a press release, Fisher, also the Ohio development director, said that Hillary Clinton “understands that there is no more important issue than turning around our economy and providing jobs for Ohioans.”
Hillary Clinton said that she was “honored” to have Fisher’s support.
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Turner wants to be an appropriator
Rep. Mike Turner has thrown his hat into the crowded race to fill a vacancy on the House Appropriations Committee.
Turner, R-Centerville, joins Reps. Marilyn Musgrave, R-Colo, Dave Reichert, R-Wash., Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., Tom Cole, R-Okla., Henry Brown Jr., R-S.C., and Jo Bonner, R-Ala., in seeking the open seat left by ex-Rep. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., who is now a U.S. senator.
The seat is expected to be filled later this month, after Republican members meet for a retreat to discuss what they want in their new appropriator.
Two of Ohio’s members of the House Appropriations Committee, Reps. David Hobson, R-Springfield and Ralph Regula, R-Navarre, are retiring at the end of this year.
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You’ve heard of ‘Obama Girl?’ Meet ‘Wulsin Girl’
Democrat Victoria Wells Wulsin, who hopes to unseat second district congresswoman Jean Schmidt, R-Loveland, has a fan on YouTube.
And for once, we’re speechless.
What do you think of ‘Wulsin Girl?’
UPDATE: Wulsin Girl is Ann Driscoll, a student at the Berklee College of Music in Boston and a Cincinnati native who made this on her own on her winter break. “We’re surprised and thrilled that she put together a nice product,” said Ann Herzner, communications director for Wulsin for Congress.
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Strickland to appear in South Carolina for Clinton
Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, who stumped for Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., in Iowa - and raised a few eyebrows when he criticized Iowa’s first-in-the-nation status - is back on the stump for Clinton.
Strickland, a Democrat and former U.S. House member who announced his endorsement of Clinton last fall, will appear in Columbia, S.C. for Clinton on Sunday, the Clinton campaign announced late Thursday.
Further details are to be announced, the campaign said.
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Speaking of red meat and potatoes…
…that’s what House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-West Chester, offered during a speech at the RNC winter meeting in Washington, D.C. today.
Boehner offered sharp criticism of the Democrats’ performance in the majority of Congress, calling their approach the same “heavy-handed, tax and spend agenda that dominated much of the 20th century.”
He also tried to make the case that he hopes will win back Congress in November: Republicans, he argued, are for lower taxes, against illegal immigration and against pork-barrel spending. Republicans, he said were “remarkably effective” in fighting for their priorities.
And, of course, he weighed in on the presidential campaign. Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., he said, would “force every one of us into government-run health care.” Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., he said, “spent his entire career getting himself ready to run for President.”
“The Democrats only seem to see a failed America - they think we need to pay more taxes, they think we need larger bureaucracies here in Washington , and they think that we need to withdraw from the world stage,” he said. “I think the more the American people hear that message, the more I think they’re going to reject it.”
ACLU files suit to block paper voting system
According to the Associated Press, a federal lawsuit filed Thursday seeks to block Ohio’s biggest county from moving ahead with plans to switch to a paper voting system for the March 4 presidential primary. The American Civil Liberties Union’s lawsuit argues that the system to be put in place in Cuyahoga County violates voters’ Constitutional rights because it doesn’t allow them to correct ballot errors.
This just in: Boehner a meat-and-potatoes guy
The House cafeterias are under renovation, and the old-fashioned, 1950s-style fare is being replaced with “greener” fare - including more exotic food (marinated figs! goat cheese! prosciutto!), fair-trade coffee and biodegradable cutlery. It’s part of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s plan to make the Capitol carbon-neutral by the end of the year.
One House member who’s not a fan: House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-West Chester. Lest ye think he’s gone tree-hugger, Boehner was quick to clarify during a press availability with reporters Wednesday that he was NOT a fan of the new fare.
Not even the panzanella bar?
“I like the food we had before,” Boehner groused. “Real food. Food I can pronounce the name of.”
Boehner also pooh-poohed the greening effort. “We’re buying carbon credits,” he said. “You know, it reminds me of the Catholic Church in the Middle Ages, when you could buy indulgences.”
For the record, the panzanella bar is a salad bar.
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Blackwell joins Club for Growth Board
The conservative Club for Growth, which Ohio last heard from during the heated Bob Latta-Steve Buehrer Republican congressional primary in the 5th District, just placed another Ohioan on its board - former Ohio Secretary of State and 2006 Republican candidate for governor Ken Blackwell.
Blackwell, who lost to Democrat Ted Strickland, in a Monday release by the Club, said he was “honored” to join the board.
“The Club for Growth has played a crucial role in advocating for free-market, limited-government policies and the prosperity that results from those policies,” he said. “I look forward to joining their courageous fight on behalf of American taxpayers in what promises to be a rewarding and fruitful partnership.”
The Club last endorsed Buehrer, an Ohio state senator, in his heated primary with Latta, a former state representative. Latta won the primary and the race to succeed Rep. Paul Gillmor, R-Old Fort, who died in September.
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Kucinich Gets “Rock Star” Treatment in Michigan
Dennis Kucinich’s longshot campaign for president may be just that but up in Michigan the Cleveland Democrat is being treated like a “rock star.”
That’s according to the Detroit Free Press which reported on a Kucinich campaign stop Thursday in Troy, a Detroit suburb, before a standing room only crowd of 300.
Although Michigan’s Democrat primary is Tuesday, major Democratic candidates- Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards - are staying out of the state. They’re honoring the sanctions the Democratic National Committee imposed on Michigan for scheduling its primary ahead of schedule.
U.S. Rep. Kucinich, D-Cleveland, however, has planned several campaign stops in the state before Tuesday’s voting. His name will appear on the ballot along with Clinton, Mike Gravel, Chris Dodd (who’s dropped out of the race) and “uncommitted.” The Michigan Democratic Party is advising backers of Obama and Edwards to vote for “uncommitted.”
At the Troy rally, Kucinich, among other things, called for removing U.S. troops from Iraq and the impeachment of President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney, according to the Free Press.
Watchdog calls Hobson “Porker of the Month”
A public restroom and a gas station spurred a Washington, D.C. anti-pork watchdog Wednesday to give Rep. David Hobson a rather dubious honor: The group named him their January “Porker of the Month.”
Citizens Against Government Waste, which annually releases a “pork book” aimed at highlighting earmarks it deems egregious, gave Hobson, R-Springfield, ranking member of the House Appropriations Committee’s subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, the label for a $300,000 earmark he inserted into the Fiscal 2008 Departments of Transportation, Housing and Urban Development and Related Agencies portion of the omnibus appropriations bill that would pay for a comfort station for the Springfield Arts Council’s west plaza.
The comfort station will be located in Springfield’s Veterans Park Amphitheater and will make the restroom handicap accessible. The money is part of a $3.9 million capital improvement campaign by the council, which has also received money from the state of Ohio, local foundations and the local park district. The earmark will also pay for a paved walkway through the amphitheater, a concession stand and a seating area that will be handicap accessible.
Hobson said the earmark would help the more than 60,000 people from the region who visit the site each year.
“This project helps to improve the quality of life for others and has support at the state and local levels,” he said.
The group also cited an $800,000 earmark he garnered in 2001 for the Tawawa Community Development Corporation in Wilberforce for a gas station. Hobson has said the gas station was important for economic development for Wilberforce and Central State Universities. County commissioners and Speedway SuperAmerica also contributed money to the project, and the Tawawa/Dave Hobson Plaza opened for business in December of last year.
Hobson sought the earmark after nearly running out of gas in the region more than 25 years ago. The group called the earmark “self-indulgent” in its release.
“The Wilberforce project is more than a gas station. It involves a training program and internship opportunities for students from Central State University and Wilberforce University,” Hobson said. “Further, it helps to improve the quality of life for the entire community, because it offers services that were not previously available for miles around.”
Wilberforce University President Floyd Flake said the Speedway project “has brought a renewed vitality and economic energy to the Wilberforce-Central State University community. Its presence will have a measurable economic impact on disadvantaged students and an economically-distressed community. There has not been any direct economic stimulus in this community since the catastrophic tornado of 1974 that destroyed many university buildings and private residences.”
Hobson was a “Porker of the Month” in November of 2003, along with Sens. George Voinovich and Mike DeWine, both Ohio Republicans. They got the label after threatened to oppose the Medicare prescription drug bill if it required competitive bidding for durable medical equipment like canes and walkers, according to the group.
What do you think of these earmarks? Are they important projects that deserve federal dollars, or are they pork?
Harris Backs Widener in State Senate Race
Ohio Senate President Bill Harris, R-Ashland, and the rest of the Senate Republican Caucus have thrown their support - and more than ample financial resources- behind state Rep. Chris Widener, R-Springfield, in the Republican primary in the 10th Senate District.
Republican Steve Austria of Beavercreek holds the Senate seat now but is term limited and is running for the U.S. House seat being vacated by U.S. Rep. David Hobson, R-Springfield, who is retiring.
Widener is running against former Greene County Commissioner W. Reed Madden and Beavercreek resident James Howard.
Widener won’t have to run againt Hobson, formerly a state senator. Hobson had talked about running for the Senate again but decided against it.
“Chris Widener has distinguished himself as a strong voice for the Miami Valley and as an effective leader at the Statehouse on its behalf,” Harris said in a press release.
Merle Kearns, a former member of both the Ohio House and Senate, is general chairman of Madden’s campaign. Kearns and Widener have clashed in the past. She won a House primary against Widener in 2000 after Widener had been appointed to the House seat.
The winner in the Republican primary in the 10th Senate District will face Democrat Roger Tackett, a Clark County commissioner.
The district includes Greene, Clark and Madison counties.
Government wheels keep on turnin’
At the beginning of each year Montgomery County Commissioners have a few housekeeping tasks to attend to, including approving a resolution allowing the purchases of up to $1,000 to be made without a purchase order.
This year was no different. But what did stand out was the plain language on the accompanying briefing sheet explaining the necessity for the action on Jan. 3. There was no complex explanation of the need to cut down on paperwork or free up staff from being bogged down in producing purchase orders for $200 worth of pens.
Instead the project necessity was listed as: “Keeps the wheels of government turning more smoothly.”
Who could be against that!
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Turner and Voinovich: Mideast Road Buddies
Rep. Mike Turner and Sen. George Voinovich had just landed in Germany Dec. 27 - the beginning of a weeklong trip primarily to the Middle East - when they got news that made their trip all the more newsworthy: Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto had been shot.
The duo, accompanied by a handful of members of the House Armed Services Committee, were wheels down in Germany but had not yet left the plane when they got the news.
“There was a great deal of shock and sadness,” Turner, R-Centerville, said. “We all knew that this would plunge the country further into chaos and that this represented a greater threat to the country transitioning to democracy.”
The news quashed their planned visit to Pakistan. But the group still visited Inida, Egypt, Israel and Jordan.
In Egypt and Israel, the group focused on issues of weapons-smuggling from the Egyptian border into Gaza. Turner said there’s been significant dispute between the two countries over the issue. Egypt has argued that its residents should be able to enter Gaza to visit Muslim holy sites. But Israel has argued that the access has allowed the terrorist group Hamas to smuggle weapons and money into the country.
But Bhutto’s assassination, Turner said, colored the entire trip.
In India, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh recalled how he had talked to Bhutto the day before and encouraged her. The two countries - both nuclear powers - have had fragile relations.
Her assassination, Turner said, “shows that there is a great deal of instability and of course increased threat to United States.”
For his part, Voinovich, R-Ohio, called Bhutto “a voice of moderation” and said he hoped Pakistan would come together to reject the violence and extremism that he worried could destroy that country.
The group returned from their trip Saturday.
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Voinovich on Obama’s foreigh policy experience: “Gimme a break”
Sen. George Voinovich, who convened a conference call Tuesday intending to talk about a recent trip to the Middle East with Rep. Mike Turner, R-Centerville, and other House members, instead found himself assessing the field of 2008 presidential candidates.
Democrat Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., he said, “has got a pretty good perspective on foreign policy” thanks to her years in the White House. On the Republican side, he said, “I think John McCain, R-Ariz. would probably argue” he’s got the most foreign policy experience.
But McCain, he said, has “very little experience in terms of management.” And Clinton, he said, “has never run anything.” He said Republican Mitt Romney was most qualified from a management perspective. “He has proven himself in the business sector,” he said, giving Romney credit as well for saving the Olympics in Salt Lake City. Voinovich stopped short of endorsing Romney, simply saying he’d “make a good manager.”
“That’s where Bush has gotten in trouble a little bit,” Voinovich said. “People thought he’d be a lot better manager than he was. Even though he’s dedicated himself to management, some screw-ups that have occurred have really hurt him. A lot of Republicans are disappointed because frankly they thought he’d be a better manager.”
Voinovich, R-Ohio, saved his harshest words for Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., a first-term Democrat whose name Voinovich mispronounced. Asked to assess Obama’s work on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Voinovich, a fellow committee member, retorted, “He hasn’t had any experience in foreign policy. Give me a break.”
Lest you think his complimentary comments on Clinton are an indication that he’d break party lines, Voinovich made it clear: He will vote for Republican.
Bike helmets may be required
Ohio may join 32 other states that require minors to wear bike helmets while riding a bike or in a seat or trailer.
Two bills are pending the General Assembly that would require cyclists under the age of 17 to strap on a proper bike helmet or face a $25 fine. (Some cities, including Centerville, already have local laws requiring kids to wear bike helmets.)
Only warnings would be issued the first year of the law but after that parents would be ticketed. Money from the tickets would be put into a fund to pay for helmets, which cost as little as $10, to low-income kids.
The Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute reports that 45- to 88-percent of reported head injuries in bike accidents could be prevented with helmets.
Ohio has 2.8 million kids. Even if only half bike, the bill would affect 1.4 million Ohioans.
State Rep. Mike Skindell, D-Lakewood, an avid bicyclist, will give sponsor testimony on the House bill Wednesday. Skindell was hit by a vehicle while cycling last year and credits a helmet for reducing his injuries.
State Sen. Tom Roberts, D-Dayton, is sponsoring a similar bill in the Senate.
Do you think Ohio should have a law requiring children to wear bike helmets?
Edwards Could Be Dems’ Best Bet in Ohio
Barack Obama was the winner in Iowa and Hillary Clinton’s planning to be the “comeback kid” in New Hampshire but John Edwards just might be the Democrats’ best bet to win Ohio, a crucial state in the general election.
At least that’s the conclusion of a new presidential poll released Saturday by Public Policy Polling of Raleigh, North Carolina, which happens to be Edwards’ home state.
Edwards, who finished second to Obama in Iowa, leads all four major Republican candidates- Rudy Giuliani, John McCain, Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee - in the poll in Ohio. Obama and Clinton each leads in just the matchups with Giuliani and Romney.
On the Republican side, McCain emerged from the poll as the GOP’s strongest Ohio candidate, leading Clinton and Obama, but trailing Edwards.
The poll also showed that Edwards led three of the four Republicans in Florida, another battleground state while McCain led all the Democratic candidates in Florida.
The poll was conducted Friday with 946 likely Ohio general election voters and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percent. In Florida, 543 likely general election voters were surveyed with a margin of error of plus or minus 4.2 percent.
For full poll results, go to www.publicpolicypolling.com
No man is an island - except maybe this guy
Richard Powell of Des Moines had no sooner parked his fanny with Joe Biden’s campaign before the lobbying began.
“Come over here!” cried a voice from the Hillary Clinton’s camp.
“I’m going to stay with the winner,” Powell said.
Turns out the lobbying was coming from his family - his sister, a cousin, his mother and father, all Clinton backers. But Powell is nothing if not stubborn. He sat resolutely long after Biden was deemed not viable.
“Red Rover, Red Rover, let Richard come over!” cried his cousin, Theresa Walker Nowell.
The duo’s shouting match lasted well into the caucus. In the end, Nowell’s camp won the caucus. Clinton received three delegates - 95 people voted for her. Biden got none.
“We still love you, Richard,” Nowell said.
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A new voter - and American - in Des Moines
Meet Kang Rang.
He was born in March 1961, in southern Sudan. He moved here last year, and became a U.S. citizen in November.
He’s also voting in his first caucus.
He said he’s supporting Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill. “He says there will be more change if he is president,” Rang said.
What sort of changes would Rang like?
“I’d like the young generation of Americans to be equal,” he said. “No corruption and for people to work together and share, because America is a leader in the world.”
How does he feel to be weighing in on the first presidential caucus in the nation?
Rang said he does not know the words to say. He just smiles, instead.
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Republicans back both Huckabee, Romney at Weeks
At 7:15 p.m. EST, Democrats at Nathan Weeks Middle School in Des Moines were already packing into the school cafeteria. But it was a little slower going among Republicans.
Part of that was that Republicans weren’t supposed to caucus until 8 p.m. And part is that Nathan Weeks is in a working-class, Democratic leaning part of town.
Shirley Shaw, precinct chair for the 100th Precinct in Des Moines, wore a “Mitt Romney” sticker on her black sweater. She predicted the former Mass. governor would do well.
She said his values reminded her of her father, a Pentecostal minister.
“He is a Mormon,” she said. “But I believe he stands for the same thing my dad did.”
Down the hall at Weeks, Linda George, 61, a florist from Des Moines, wore a “FairTax” T-shirt and pink breast cancer survivor ballcap. She said she would support former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. 
She brought her granddaughter, Emilee Raguindin, 18, a fellow Huckabee supporter. Both were voting in their first caucus.
“He speaks for me in so many ways,” George said. “I am a conservative Christian, but I am an American. I love my country and I believe he is right on the issues.”
She listed abortion, the second amendment and immigration as top priorities.
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Dann changes plans
Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann canceled plans to attend Monday’s BCS championship game in New Orleans with five family members so that he can attend the funeral of Cedarville police officer Casey Terrell. Terrell, 24, was killed New Year’s Eve when he swerved his car to avoid hitting a deer. His funeral is Saturday.
Dann had been among 55 public officials and leaders invited to the Ohio State-Louisiana State football game by Ohio State University. Dann had been scheduled to pay his own way for the $1,800 per person trip that included the $175 face value of the ticket, airfare on a chartered jet and three nights at the New Orleans Hilton Riverside.
Dann spokesman Jim Gravelle said Dann has a practice of attending the funerals or calling hours for any law enforcement officer killed in the line of duty.
Dann — a University of Michigan graduate — will cheer for the Buckeyes among family and friends in Youngstown.
Vilsack on Strickland: He’s just being a governor
What does former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, a Democrat who has also endorsed Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., think about Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland’s comments about Iowa not being the best place to start the Iowa caucuses?
“I’m obviously very biased about the state and the job we do,” said Vilsack. “But I understand as a governor why he said what he said. Even though I don’t necessarily agree with it.”
Strickland, D-Ohio, caused heartburn for Clinton’s campaign earlier this week after the Columbus Dispatch published a quote from him saying it “makes no sense” for Iowa to be first in the nation. Strickland has been to Iowa three times to support Clinton’s presidential bid.
Stay tuned to this blog tonight, when we’ll be posting color and results from the Iowa caucuses. Caucuses begin at 7:30 p.m. EST.
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Obama First to file for Ohio Primary
Barack Obama may be in a neck-and-neck battle with Hillary Clinton and John Edwards for first place in Thursday’s Iowa caucuses in the battle for the Democratic presidential nomination.
In Ohio, however, Obama scored a victory of sorts Wednesday by becoming the first presidential candidate to officially file a petition to get on the state’s March 4 presidential primary ballot.
“We’re excited,” Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman, an Obama backer, said as he turned in the petition along with 3,000 signatures at Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner’s office. “….It represents a new generation of leadership.”
The filing deadline to get on the Ohio ballot is Friday.
Being first to file for the Ohio primary won’t mean much, of course, unless Obama does well in Iowa and the states with early primaries. It’s possible that by the time Ohioans get to vote, both Democrats and Republicans will have a pretty good idea who their candidates for president will be.
Do you think the Ohio primary will make a difference in who become the Republican and Democratic nominees?
Iowa columnist to Strickland: Back off our caucus!
Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland raised some eyebrows in a Sunday article in the Columbus Dispatch when he looked askance at the Iowa caucuses, criticizing them for not best representing America.
Strickland, who has endorsed Democrat Sen. Hillary Clinton and visited the state three times to stump for her, put Clinton in an awkward position: She wants very much to win Iowa, and with every vote important in the Hawkeye state, it doesn’t help her to have her surrogates bashing the process. Her campaign put out a speedy statement disavowing Strickland’s comments.
Now Des Moines Register columnist David Yepsen weighs in in a column talking about how Strickland’s comments screwed things up for Clinton.
What do you think? Is Strickland speaking the harsh truth? Or should he have stayed quiet?
Kucinich to Iowa: Make Obama your second choice
Rep. Dennis Kucinich, the lone presidential candidate from Ohio, wants support from Iowa voters during the state’s first-in-the-nation presidential caucus Jan. 3.
But failing that, he wants them to back Sen. Barack Obama.
During the Democratic caucus process in Iowa, voters at individual precincts group themselves into clusters according to who they back. Candidates with less than 15 percent of the support of the room are deemed “not viable” and voters in those groups are asked to either back another candidate, join another “not viable” group or not have their votes counted.
Kucinich wants his backers to support Obama should he not be viable at individual precincts.
“I hope Iowans will caucus for me as their first choice this Thursday, because of my singular positions on the war, on health care, and trade. This is an opportunity for people to stand up for themselves,” Kucinich said. “But in those caucus locations where my support doesn’t reach the necessary threshold, I strongly encourage all of my supporters to make Barack Obama their second choice. Sen. Obama and I have one thing in common: Change.”
Obama, D-Ill., sent out a statement Tuesday thanking Kucinich for asking his backers to support him should Kucinich, D-Cleveland, not be viable at individual precincts.
“I have a lot of respect for Congressman Kucinich, and I’m honored that he has done this because we both believe deeply in the need for fundamental change,” Obama said. “He and I have been fighting for a number of the same priorities - including an end to the war in Iraq that we both opposed from the start, reforming Washington and creating a better life for America’s working families.”
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