Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland really wants you to know what a regular Ohio guy he is. When Ohioans go to the polls, Strickland wants them to remember that he’s like them—and that the fellow who’s running against him, John Kasich, is just a big-city banker. It’s a plausible strategy. Kasich once worked for Lehman Brothers (the horror!). Kasich’s spokesman even helped Strickland’s campaign narrative along by mocking the fact that the governor grew up “in a chicken shack.” Now the Strickland campaign is doubling down on the down-homeyness by playing up the guitar stylings of Frances Strickland, Ted’s wife. Witness:
Frances also played guitar on the campaign trail when Strickland ran for his first term in 2006. You can bet the Strickland campaign is going to continue to try to emphasize these sorts of “identity” stories in the weeks and months to come.
