Paul Hackett is on a tour of Ohio. His straight-talking, friendly style helps him gain support every place he visits. The Mount Vernon News (Knox County Ohio) had a very nice article about Hackett. Here are some excerpts:
Fiscal responsibility, limited government, a strong national defense and fair trade. Sticking tough on these and other issues is what will bring victory to the Democratic Party in statewide elections, said Paul Hackett, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, challenging Senator Mike Dewine. Hackett participated in a meet-and-greet event at the Ice Cream Station this morning...
...An Iraq war veteran, Hackett said he is proud he had the opportunity to serve his country, but he has spoken out against the war in Iraq and called it a “sad misuse” of the American military. He took an opportunity to take a jab at Vice President Dick Cheney and others, who he said recently adopted the view that the administration shouldn’t be criticized in a time of war.
“I didn’t go to fight in Iraq to be told that I can’t have my freedom because the world is too dangerous,” he said.
He said the war has weakened the nation and that the real fight was in Afghanistan. With the military stretched so thin, the nation would be hard-pressed to get entangled in Iran, where problems are growing. And after spending hundreds of billions of dollars on the war in Iraq, the administration is talking about cutting taxes.
“That’s not responsible,” he said. “If you increase spending, you can’t cut revenue.”
Hackett said he is a strong supporter of organized labor and of keeping Social Security intact....
In this week's, The Other Paper, there is a story about how the bloggers like Paul Hackett. Sherrod Brown did something to anger some bloggers, and he has not found lots of support with bloggers. (Note: I tried to link to the article, but for some reason it won't work. If you are in Columbus, the article is on page 9 of The Other Paper.) Some of concern about Brown comes from the fact that first he was in the race, then out, and then back in again.