News Summary

Jean Schmidt's record enlivens two races

Unusual doings in the 2nd Congressional District. Actually, unusual doings are becoming usual there.

The 2nd District is near Cincinnati. It stretches from the eastern edge of the city eastward, through affluent suburbs and then into rural areas. And it stretches north to Lebanon.

Formerly represented by Republican Rob Portman, the district gave President George W. Bush 64 percent of the vote in 2004. That's a hugely Republican district.

However, in a 2005 special election (when Rep. Portman left), returning Iraq war veteran Democrat Paul Hackett stunned the political world by getting 48 percent of the vote. That turned out to be a harbinger of things to come, both nationally and locally.

Mr. Hackett was defeated by former state Rep. Jean Schmidt. In a tough Republican primary, she had defeated then-U.S. Sen. Mike DeWine's son, Pat, and former U.S. Rep. Bob McEwen, among others.

However, upon election, she quickly got into political trouble, most notably for publicly lecturing a decorated Marine veteran in the House on courage. What with that and other embarrassments, the nonpartisan Almanac of American Politics says, Rep. Schmidt "appears to have turned a once-solid Republican district into a battleground."

In 2006, in an unusual development, she was challenged in the primary — by Mr. McEwen. She survived. In the general election, she just barely survived. Dr. Victoria Wulsin, a relative newcomer to politics, got more than 49 percent of the vote.

So the district is still seen by some as losable by the Republicans if they put up Rep. Schmidt and winnable by the Democrats if they put up the right candidate.

Democrats

When Victoria Wulsin first appeared on the political scene, she was an idealist who didn't seem to grasp the conservative nature of her district or the unlikeliness of a Democratic victory there. She was a suburban liberal. She lost a primary to Paul Hackett, who had a decidedly different image.

Dr. Wulsin had a remarkable resume of medical work, both here and abroad. She had devoted years to humanitarian causes.

She had not been a politician. And yet she was seeking a high position. However, she was not asking to skip ahead of other Democratic politicians. None of them wanted to run for the seat in question. They saw it as belonging to the Republicans.

This time, in the primary her main opponent is Steve Black. Harvard-educated (like Dr. Wulsin), he is a lawyer and member of a well-known Cincinnati family. His father, who died this year, was a judge. And a relative is a federal magistrate who ran for the Ohio Supreme Court twice after serving on the municipal bench.

Mr. Black has voted in Republican primaries until very recently. He says he switched parties because of displeasure with President George W. Bush. His father also switched and wrote a newspaper piece outlining his reasons.

A third candidate is William Smith, but he has been largely invisible on the campaign trail.

Mr. Black claims that Dr. Wulsin is not "tough" enough to be beat Jean Schmidt. He points to a debate two years ago in which she didn't come on strong. Dr. Wulsin largely accepts this criticism of her last campaign and has been trying to hone a tougher line this time.

As if to show his own toughness, Mr. Black is running a negative campaign against Dr. Wulsin, saying she's been investigated on a medical ethics issue, that she has not released the names of all her donors (the law does not require that for small donors), that she wants more trade with the likes of Armenia (yes, Armenia), and more.

The attacks don't wash. At a certain stage, the claim that the Democrats need a tougher candidate devolves into the claim that Congress needs yet another lawyer, another few-holds-barred warrior.

But ultimately that's a call for a generic candidacy. And that is not what the Democrats need in this Republican venue.

If voters are going to do something unusual, they have to be presented with an unusual option. Paul Hackett was one; by virtue of her background, so is Victoria Wulsin. True, they both lost, but they came a lot closer than their predecessors.

Dr. Wulsin would bring unusual experiences, sensibilities and ability to Washington. In a primary race in which the Democrats do not differ profoundly on the issues, she is the right choice.

Republicans

Rep. Jean Schmidt's close calls in two elections are not the only reason Republicans in her district are well-advised to see if they can find a better candidate.

She has been known to speak favorably of having nuclear waste from around the world stored in Pike County. (That could bring jobs, but not the sort that would do the most for the county.)

When the scandal broke about wounded war veterans getting poor treatment at the outpatient facility at the Walter Reed complex in Washington, she said the whole thing was overblown in the media. (In time, though, President Bush decided heads needed to roll.)

She has circulated newspaper columns under her name that were not written by her or even her staff, but by a central Republican office.

And a state board ruled that she had exaggerated her education and falsely claimed two endorsements.

Add these embarrassments to the episode in which she publicly scolded decorated former Marine John Murtha, a congressman, that "cowards cut and run; Marines never do."

The 2nd District and Ohio need to be represented by somebody whose reputation is not connected to such bush-league mistakes.

As this year approached, there was much ferment within Republican circles about Rep. Schmidt's seat. Several names were mentioned as possible opponents. Now, however, the race is down to the incumbent and state Rep. Tom Brinkman, of Cincinnati.

(Young newcomer Nathan Bailey is running a low-profile "Internet-based" race, saying he could unite the party, because he carries less political baggage than the others.)

Like the incumbent, Rep. Brinkman (who was one of the people she beat in 2005) is very intensely conservative. He is distressingly big into hot-button social issues such as abortion and gun control. He sued Miami University over its awarding of benefits to same-sex partners.

However, in four terms in Columbus, Rep. Brinkman has earned an improving reputation. He likes to point to a magazine poll that labeled him the Statehouse's "most principled" legislator.

He supported moderate Jim Petro over right-winger J. Kenneth Blackwell for governor, saying, among other things, that Mr. Blackwell's anti-tax plan would have hurt local governments. (Some people say personal animosities were at play involving Cincinnati politics.)

Rep. Brinkman does show at least one sign of moderation. He says that when he ran for the legislature eight years ago, the main thing he wanted to do was cut taxes. He says he has since learned that there's a more important consideration in building an economy: improving the quality of education.

That's a sacrilege in his political circles. But he argues that places that are thriving more than Ohio — he notes Chicago and New York — don't have lower taxes, just a better work force.

Rep. Brinkman could represent the district better than the incumbent and probably be a stronger candidate in November.