I'm not sure that this is much of a diary, but the latest CNN / Time Poll of the Ohio gubernatorial race shows that people proclaiming the political demise of Governor Ted Strickland may be a bit premature.
According to the latest poll - conducted by telephone over the period between October 15-19- Strickland is leading former Republican Congressman, Wall Street lackey and Fixed Noise personality John Kasich 48%-47%, with 3% of the vote still undecided. This poll stands in sharp contrast to earlier polls released in the last week by Quinnipiac University and the University of Cincinnati, which showed respective Kasich leads of 8 and 10 percentage points. Given that the CNN poll is the first of any kind to show a Strickland lead in months, the question needs to be asked if this poll is merely a statistical outlier, or an indication of Democrats and Dem-leading independents finally being motivated to vote. Regardless, it should serve as a reminder to all Ohio progressives that this race may not be the foregone conclusion that it appeared to be months ago. Whatever you happen to think of Strickland (and I'm not particularly wild about the guy), we Ohioans CAN NOT allow John Kasich to be elected governor. To put it mildly and succinctly, a Kasich-run Ohio will resemble Chris Christie's New Jersey- minus a few critical IQ points. As a progressive voter, I cannot in good conscience let this happen to my state, and none of you who share the same leanings should do the same.