SINKING FAST. A new Rasmussen poll shows Ken Blackwell trailing Ted Strickland by a whopping 25 points in the Ohio gubernatorial race While I typically spend more time handicapping Armageddon than elections, it�s hard to see how even Blackwell could come up with voting rules draconian enough to keep more than 25 percent of the electorate from voting. While the gap may be explained by Republicans falling out of favor nationally and in particular in Ohio, one might also read into these poll results a growing disgust with the self-righteous political proselytizing of Blackwell and his friends on the theocratic right. (For more on that, see Paul Hackett�s new blog, We United Ohio.) According to the poll, 55 percent of Ohio voters view Blackwell unfavorably, with 35 percent viewing him very unfavorably. In a move so desperate you can practically see Blackwell groping for his life jacket, his campaign has launched a new blog, Tell The Truth, Ted, which purports to �fact-check� the voting record of Strickland, whom the Blackwell campaign calls a �darling of the radical left.� And even though Strickland has been a minister, psychologist, and member of Congress, all summer the Blackwell campaign has insisted that Strickland �claims� to be a minister and has derisively referred to him as �former prison psychologist Ted Strickland.� Why so down on ministering to the incarcerated? Must be that that paragon of political virtue Chuck Colson has the monopoly on doing God�s work in America�s prisons.
--Sarah Posner
