Ohio Governor Ted Strickland - Hillary's VP?

[Herman Munster]

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/ideas/bal-id.infocuswest18nov18,0,447615.story

The governor of Ohio, Ted Strickland, was led around like a prize bull by Hillary Clinton's aides at a big Democratic gala in Des Moines, Iowa, last weekend. He was on display so that Clinton could give him a shout-out from the stage. With his support, she told the crowd of 9,000 party activists, she would carry the big swing state of Ohio in the general election (unlike John Kerry last time) and, as a result, win the presidency.

Strickland, who is highly popular with his state's voters, had endorsed Clinton the day before, renewing speculation about his own future. "I have said repeatedly that I am not presumptuous enough to think that I would even be considered for the vice presidency," said Strickland. "But if I was, I have no interest at all in the vice-presidency. . . I love being the governor of Ohio and will do whatever I can in that capacity to help Senator Clinton win. But you just can stop any thought of the vice presidency, that's not something that I'm interested in."

Nice try, Governor, but it looks like you just spouted one of the biggest lies in politics. Perhaps Strickland is an exception. But most ambitious officeholders would kill for the chance to be vice president.

[femmocrat]

1. Highly unlikely, IMO.

He was just elected governor! He's probably just angling for a speaking slot at the convention at this point.

[Rick Myers]

2. Agreed...

Strickland is a rising star, but will not ge the VP nod...

[MADem]

8. Of course, if he were born in FL and had loads of wonderful, influential beloved relatives there...

Well, THAT might do it!!! He'd be a two-fer!

But I agree with your take, on a more serious note!!!

[blm]

10. Just think how MANY are being dangled this bait during endorsement season.

.

[blm]

3. Kerry did carry Ohio - Terry McAuliffe's DNC stewardship LET the RNC steal it for Bush.

Even Bill Clinton said in summer of 2005 that RFK's article was compelling in its proof that Ohio was stolen - of course, he only said it in front of an alternative press crowd and would not repeat it in front of mainstream media.

[Capn Sunshine]

4. Not that this reflects Hillary's takeon the issue

She'll talk to him when she gets home.

[blm]

6. It's alternative press and Bill knew THEY knew it was stolen so he beats around

the bush. And the most significant thing to me is that NO MAINSTREAM MEDIA chose to repeat that Clinton said this = a PRESIDENT said this and no media thought it should be reported?

2004 was ALWAYS a throwaway election - for the media and for the powerful Des who undermined that election at every turn.

Bill Clinton's full remarks on RFK Jr.'s article
Here's the longer version of Clinton's remarks:

http://aan.org/alternative/Aan/ViewArticle?oid=oid%3A166649

Q. Talking about elections, Robert Kennedy Jr. just wrote an article in Rolling Stone claiming the Bush Administration stole the last election. Do you think it was, and how can we guard against something like that going on in the future?

WJC: I must say I read Robert Kennedy's article in Rolling Stone, and I think all of you should if you haven't. And before I read it, I was convinced that President Bush had won Ohio... I... I thought it would have been ironic if he had lost the election in the electoral college and won the popular vote--that is, if he went out the same way he came in. ButŠ but I think thatŠ I think that -- two things. I think there is no question that Al Gore would have won Florida if all the votes had been counted and the people who intended to vote for him had their votes counted.

Between the people whose votes were thrown out for erroneous double voting instructions in Jacksonville, and the 3400 Jewish Democrats who voted for Pat Buchanan in the butterfly ballot, and several others, there's no question that several thousand more people in Florida intended to vote for Gore and showed up on Election Day. And I still believe that the two Bush v. Gore decisions will go down as one of the four or five worst decisions in the history of the United States Supreme Court. I think it was a disgrace. And I think ifŠ if Gore had been ahead and Bush had been behind, the Supreme Court would have voted nine to nothing to count all the votes by uniform standard. That's what I think would have happened. You may not agree but that's what I... I used to teach that course, Constitutional Law. That's what I think.

In this case, I think... You know, I don't have an opinion, but I thought Robert Kennedy made a very persuasive case, and what was clear is that the Secretary of State, now their candidate for governor, was a world-class expert in voter suppression, and that he was doing everything he could to keep voters that he thought were Democrats from voting--in every way that he could. And I think that is wrong. And I hope that the voters of Ohio will repudiate it. I mean, you know, we ought to be in the business of getting more people to vote, not fewer.

We don't have as many people--heck, they had 70 percent of the voters voted in Iraq in the last election, they had a better voter turnout than we did, and a bunch of them were risking their lives. So I don't think we ought to be ratifying the public service of anybody who thinks it's his job to keep people from voting and that's ... but I don't have an opinion because I didn't know anything about it 'til I read Robert Kennedy's article. But he sure as heck raised a--he made a compelling case, those numbers that he said in some of those precincts, the probability of the vote total being that much at variance with the exit polls was one in 600,000.

And it happened over and over and over again. So if you haven't read the article, I urge you to read it and when you go back home I urge you to look at... you know, again this is without regard to party, I just don't think we ought to be suppressing voters. We ought to be getting them to the polls and letting them vote and letting them have their say.

[spotbird]

11. James Carville tipped off Bush

So Kerry decides to fight. In fact, he considers going to Ohio to camp out with his voters until there is a recount. This is the last thing the White House needs, especially after Florida 2000.

So what happened?

James Carville gets on the phone with his wife, Mary Matalin, who is at the White House with Bush.

"Carville told her he had some inside news. The Kerry campaign was going to challenge the provisional ballots in Ohio -- perhaps up to 250,000 of them. 'I don't agree with it, Carville said. I'm just telling you that's what they're talking about.'

"Matalin went to Cheney to report...You better tell the President Cheney told her."

Matalin does, advising Bush that "somebody in authority needed to get in touch with J. Kenneth Blackwell, the Republican Secretary of State in Ohio who would be in charge of any challenge to the provisional votes." An SOS goes out to Blackwell.

http://www.tpmcafe.com/blog/coffeehouse/2006/oct/07/did_carville_tip_bush_off_to_kerry_strategy_woodward

Who does he work for now? Who ultimately benefited from this betrayal?

[blm]

13. And Gore's people say they were undermined in 2000, too.

.

[OHdem10]

5. I watched a NewsProgram here in Ohio---The Journalists

do not think this is going to happen.

[Captain Hilts]

7. No. nt

[peace13]

9. If she wants Ohio she will have to work for it.

We are not going to let another election be stolen under our noses. No more!

[riqster]

12. Strickland will stay put. nt

[OhioChick]

14. The Only Reason I Could See

HRC wanting him as VP would be due to the fact that he was a Methodist minister. (Trying to capture the religious vote, perhaps)

[Imagevision]

15. Personally Hil & Bill are more concerned about winning in Iowa and New Hampshire...

[Connie_Corleone]

16. Strickland isn't going anywhere.

He hasn't been in office that long and there's a lot of work left to be done in our state.