Plain Dealer: "Strickland Is Doing An Appalling Job"

Brent Larkin at The Plain Dealer writes:

Almost everyone thinks Ted Strickland is a good guy. No one should believe he's a good governor - because he's not.

As Tuesday's deadline for resolving the state's budget crisis approaches, the governor's standing is clearly diminished. The lack of leadership this governor has shown throughout this crisis is nothing short of appalling.

Millions of Ohioans voted for Strickland. But only three people actually made him governor - George W. Bush, Ken Blackwell and Bob Taft. Yes, Bob Taft had lots of issues as governor, but at least Taft understood state government and how it works.

This library funding fiasco will get worked out. But that a governor actually advocated a reckless policy that would destroy Ohio's fine system of public libraries shows how completely clueless he is about the state he's lived in pretty much all his life. The head of the Dayton library system put it best, saying Strickland's proposal made him "want to puke."

Sure, Strickland got dealt a bad hand, being governor during the worst meltdown of the world economy in 75 years. Yet at a time when Ohio desperately needs a governor who thinks first and foremost of the state's future, Strickland acts as if that future begins and ends with his 2010 re-election campaign.