Strickland & Blackwell to debate

[OzarkDem]

Columbus - Debates can be dangerous political territory, but Ohio's candidates for governor agreed Monday to a series of matchups that could be coming soon to a city near you.

They promise to discuss jobs, education and health care, rather than continue the more common tradition of confining debates to a handful of issues just weeks before Election Day.

The agreement materialized late in the afternoon after Republican nominee Ken Blackwell chided his Democratic opponent, Ted Strickland, for not taking part in the Ohio Hospital Association's annual forum.

"Where is Ted?" Blackwell asked hospital trustees and executives.

If elected, Blackwell told association members that he would be a governor "who showed up," the same pledge he made last week when Strickland sent two surrogates to represent him at the Ohio Board of Regents' annual trustees conference.

Strickland fired back last week by releasing a list of appearances he made but Blackwell didn't, and his campaign noted Monday that Blackwell's refusal to debate in the GOP primary election forced the cancellation of an event sponsored by a trio of Ohio newspapers.


http://www.cleveland.com/open/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/news/1150187458278170.xml&coll=2

[cmd]

1. I notice he wants to call the shots on this as well

He apparently doesn't know where his SOS powers stop.

[zbdent]

2. Watch, when Strickland kicks Blackwell's ass in the first one,

Blackwell will run crying away from the other scheduled debates . . .