Obama and McCain Duke it Out in Ohio

The early polls say Obama has a commanding lead over McCain in Ohio, and reports are that the Republican machinery that barely delivered Bush a win in the state last time around isn't yet firing on McCain's behalf. On the other hand, the Washington Post reports on one small Ohio town (Findlay) where the damaging Obama rumors are running rampant, suggesting it's not alone in that department. Perhaps equally ominous for the Obama forces, unions don't seem to be falling behind his candidacy as one might expect them to do for a Democratic candidate. Meanwhile, the Post politics blog made this interesting observation the other day: "Obama's chance to lock down Ohio went by the boards when Gov. Ted Strickland oddly removed himself from the veepstakes...With Strickland out of the running, it's clear that Obama will have to put in the time to convince Ohio voters -- particularly the working class voters who supported Clinton in the state's primary --that he shares their values and concerns. Still, Republicans hit something close to rock-bottom in 2006 and it's not clear whether the party can recover in time for this November. National Republican strategists are not optimistic." The bottom line, we think: while Ohio may well not be the battleground state this time, it should still be quite a battle here.