Here I am at the beautiful Genoa Park waiting for a campaign rally to begin. This is not any ordinary rally. With a planned appearance by former President Bill Clinton, things should get rocking. With Gov. Ted Strickland, Judge Yvette McGhee Brown, and other top Democrats, this should be quite exciting.
Genoa Park is an open air, hillside amphitheater across the river from the Ohio Supreme Court. On a perfect sunny day that only could have been ordered by the governor, a large crowd is starting to find seats. (I've even had the chance to meet some big star bloggers from Buckeye State Blog, Plunderbund, and ProgressOhio!)
In the warm up before the rally, there was some great entertainment. An absolutely wonderful young drum group, Columbus Saints Drum Line, was fabulous.
We've seen several speakers, Ray Miller, Chris Redfern, Joe Ragolla of the AFL-CIO.
Then, the moment arrived..................President Bill Clinton took the stage. Looking a little tan and slim, Clinton gave Gov. Ted Strickland high marks. He said that Strickland was one of the finest humans he's ever known. He has done more for Ohio than people realize.
Clinton said that people cannot stay home. If you think you created a whole new world when you voted in 2008, think again and vote again.
Bill Clinton explained that the country lost jobs every month in 2008 before the financial meltdown and that the debt doubled before the financial crisis. He said that we are not out of the hole yet, but we've quit digging.
Strickland got rid of franchise tax, has recruited hi tech and manufacturing jobs.Strickland has created 50,000 jobs. Ohio has been highly rated as being ready for green jobs with locations, economic policy, and trained workers. As a matter of fact, bipartisan groups have awarded the 2007, 2008, and 2009 Governor's Cup to Ohio for best economic development in the country.
Strickland has set up a skills bank for companies who want workers. Ohio has improved worker training and it has been noticed by corporations.
Unfortunately, Kasich has plans, if elected, to cut education and worker training.
Clinton said that Kasich has unfairly been taking all of the credit for the budget fix during the 1990's. Clinton said that Kasich only deserves 10% of the credit. The rest of the credit for the budget fix goes to Democrats, including Ted Strickland, who was in the House when it passed.
He went on and noted that with some of the Republican candidates running today, George Bush looks like a liberal. He pointed out Ryan from Wisconsin wants to privatize Social Security and invest money in the stock market.
As President Clinton said, if you wanted your last vote in 2008 to mean anything, you better vote now. We can't allow the Republicans to get back in power because they will start digging a hole again.
I'll write more later..........