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Friday, February 8, 2008
Voinovich backs McCain
Sen. George Voinovich said Friday that he is endorsing Sen. John McCain for President, despite expressing concern a month ago about his lack of management experience.
Voinovich, who had not yet endorsed a Republican candidate but had expressed admiration for former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney’s management experience, told McCain on the Senate floor Thursday that he would support him. The conversation occurred hours after Romney suspended his campaign.
On Jan. 8, Voinovich shied away from backing a candidate but expressed respect for Republican Mitt Romney’s management experience. “He has proven himself in the business sector,” he said. McCain, he said, had “very little experience in terms of management.”
The two have had an occasionally shaky relationship, disagreeing most recently on a plan to reduce carbon emissions that Voinovich feared would hurt Ohio’s economy.
But Voinovich put that aside Thursday when he approached McCain on the Senate floor to congratulate him on his success in the Feb. 5 Super Tuesday primary. Voinovich said independent Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, a McCain backer, told him he’d need Voinovich’s help in Ohio. Voinovich said he promised he’d help.
“We’ve had differences of opinion on some of these issues, but I want him to know he can count on me to do everything I could to help him carry the state,” Voinovich said.
He said he’ll likely call former U.S. Sen. Mike DeWine, R-Ohio, who is spearheading McCain’s Ohio campaign in the next week or two to see what he can do for McCain’s campaign.
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Dayton city leaders discuss presidential race
Dayton Daily News education reporter Scott Elliott had an opportunity at last night’s school board meeting to talk to Dayton Mayor Rhine McLin and City Commissioner Nan Whaley about their Democratic presidential choices. Here’s what the two local Democrats had to say.
Mayor Rhine McLin said she is, so far, uncommitted. As a black woman, she said, she feels natural affinity for both Obama and Clinton.
“It’s really tough for me,” she said. “I know how it feels to break that glass ceiling. But I also like the idea of a candidate who transcends race, color, and gender and really energizes people.”
McLin said she wants to support the candidate who addresses issues she cares most about. She wants to hear more from them about where they stand and how they will govern.
“I want to believe if I support a woman that she is going to be president and not be a surrogate for her husband,” she said. “I want a president who understands urban issues in cities like Dayton — rust belt cities — and are serious about those issues. It’s about what they would do for my city’s residents to make their lives better.”
City Commissioner Nan Whaley said she also like both candidates but is solidly in Obama’s camp.
“I like Obama,” she said. “He gives me hope. I think it is a movement. People my age, and a little older or a little younger, need that in politics. Being a female and seeing Hillary in the race is really tough. But it’s not all about that.”
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