Ted Strickland Takes McCain to School on Economy

The full text of Gov. Strickland's speech is available online. Video also available.

Gov. Ted Strickland delivered a stinging rebuke to John McCain on the economy in a speech that whipped the Ohio delegation into a frenzy of cheering.

Early on Strickland referred to the pending loss of 8,200 from DHL's deal with UPS, which Strickland and Sen. Sherrod Brown have fought to avoid and which Barack Obama and the AFL/CIO have used as a basis for attacks on McCain. He also invoked the home foreclosure crisis by saying that Midwesterners are "more likely to lose a neighbor to foreclosure than gain a neighbor who buys a house." He also related that a realtor in Cincinnati is offering a class called "foreclosure opportunities."

Strickland sharply criticized McCain as out-of-touch with the plight of ordinary working people, saying that while families lose sleep at night, "McCain is sleeping better than ever." He slammed McCain for saying that the fundamentals of the economy are strong, and that he thinks Americans are better off thanks to George Bush. (Those lines drew huge boos from the crowd.) "He and the Washington lobbyists who run his campaign are offering policies that are stuck in the past," he said, which will "keep our economy in reverse."

Displaying his common touch, Strickland recalled going to a one-room school house where students were taught to correct their mistakes so they did not repeat them. "If John McCain doesn't know the economic policies he's been supporting for eight years have failed the heartland, and failed this country," Strickland said, "he's destined to repeat those mistakes."

At the end of the speech Strickland shifted to a baseball analogy to great effect. Recalling Jim Hightower's quip that George H. W. Bush was born on third base and thought he'd hit a triple, he said that in squandering the Clinton budget surplus the younger Bush "came into office on third base and then he stole second," which brought thundering laughter and applause. And, "John McCain cheered him every step of the way." After relating the high points of Obama's economic plan, Strickland said that Obama represents a change from "thinking that everyone's born on third base, to making sure everybody has their chance at bat."

Strickland concluded to big cheers with "it's time for a president who will bring our jobs back and bring our troops home -- for the change we need, it's time for Barack Obama."

As we have come to expect from the governor, he kept his points down-to-earth with every-day examples and metaphors, a style that conveys common sense and is very effective in communicating to ordinary working people. And, he delivered a memorable and compelling message.