Ohio May be Hinting at the Obama VP

Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann has finally come to his sense (singular for a reason) and resigned. Rumors are that he was unaccepting of the message until deputies actually came to his office and started removing his items. We all need subtle hints here and there.

Ohio's much talked about Governor, Ted Strickland, is interviewing candidates for his replacement. One particular name has caught my attention.....Lieutenant Governor Lee Fisher.

Hhhhmm, Fisher was Attorney General before, in the 90's, and did a fine job. But the move back to Attorney General seems unusual. It is at best a lateral transfer. Perhaps a small step up, but would remove him from the line of succession to the throne, so to speak, and he has said publicly that he'd like to be involved in state level politics again.

I'm beginning to wonder what this might tell us about the national race for the Presidency. In particular I wonder if the appointment of Lee Fisher to Attorney General would signal Barack Obama's VP choice. Follow me for a minute here.

The two largest swing states are Ohio and Florida. Almost noone believes Barack can get Florida. He just does not do well with older, Jewish and Hispanic voters. His inability to land Florida makes it imperative that he gets Ohio in the general election.

Political pundits are theorizing that Obama needs a Clinton supporter on the ticket to unite the Democratic party and keep her voters. Ohio Governor Ted Strickland is an avid Clinton supporter.

Ted is also an older, white guy, 66, first in his family to attend college and born to factory working, poor, white folks in the Appalachian rust belt in Southern Ohio.

Barack has not done well with poor, rural and working class white voters.

Strickland was a longtime Congressman for the largest poor Appalachian district in Ohio. Where did he attend college? Kentucky.

He has a doctorate in psychology and besides being a prison psychologist he was a Methodist minister. When he ran for Governor a little more than a year ago he did so with the support of many Republicans, even some high profile Republicans who supported him publicly.

So lets check Barack's grocery list of VP needs;

1) Ohio

2) white guys

3) the older folks

4) an HRC supporter

5) experience

6) the rural poor

7) a card to play in Kentucky

8) someone to play to the conservative Christian right

Wow, a marriage made in heaven, what better than a VP candidate who is an older white male conservative Clinton supporter who has a shot at delivering a swing state?

Ted Strickand is saying no right now, I am sure out of loyalty to Hillary Clinton. But I have to wonder if Hillary dropped out, could he be swayed?

There are very few good reasons for moving Lt. Governor Lee Fisher to Attorney General. Perhaps Ohio Democrats intend to use the Lt. Governor's spot strategically to fortify the party when Ted leaves. Perhaps they could fill the Lt. Governor's spot with some up and comer or some historically significant figure, like a female or black candidate who would then rise to be Ohio's first female or black Governor when Ted joins Barack on the ticket.

Or perhaps Fisher is interested in moving to the Attorney General's spot because his rise to Governor is imminent and that's not what he signed up for.

If a new Lt. Governor is appointed and then moved to Governor it could give Ohio more prominence on the national scene, more support for Barack and a chance to revive and strengthen the momentum behind the Ohio Democratic party.

Ted Stickland makes an interesting choice for VP. He fills almost every gap where Barack falls short. And his appointment to the Obama VP slot could set the stage for Democrats to cement a stronghold in Ohio.

Rarely would a ticket ever have been so well balanced, diverse and served so many purposes. It would be a brilliant strategic choice and obvious winner.

Lets hope Barack and Ted figure that out.