Stories related to: Ted Strickland

Barack Obama’s VP selection team had a busy couple of days on Capitol Hill, talking up possible running mates with legislators. A new name in the mix is that of retired Gen. James Jones, MSNBC reports. Joe Biden and Ohio governor Ted Strickland also came under scrutiny; Bill Richardson, Janet Napolitano, Mike Bloomberg, and Chuck Hagel did not.. More »

“Since McCain and Obama appear to have the nominations locked up,” it's time to start eyeing the veepstakes, Chris Cillizza writes in The Fix blog. Here are his top three for each presumptive nominee, GOP first: Tim Pawlenty: The Minnesota governor is a longtime McCain backer, and widely admired. John Thune: A handsome conservative who also beat then-senator Tom Daschle 4 years ago. Rob Portman: From Ohio, a crack economist, and not well-known—which could actually be a good thing. More »

John Kerry was mulling a pick for vice president at this time 4 years ago, but Democratic hopefuls today refuse to name a running mate. Still, Politico’s Ben Smith has an early roundup of who could be Clinton’s and Obama’s first choices in the No. 2 slot. More »

Ed Rendell could be Hillary Clinton’s greatest asset in Pennsylvania—or he could explode in her face, Politico reports. Pennsylvania’s governor is popular and authentic, and he knows how to raise money and find the state’s voters. But Rendell shoots from the hip, and often hits his foot. He once speculated, for example, that Pennsylvanian whites would not vote for Obama because he is black. More »

Despite big wins yesterday, Hillary Clinton still needs a secret weapon to make up her delegate deficit and, Walter Shapiro writes in Salon , her strategy might have been presaged in Ohio by Gov. Ted Strickland urging, “Let’s go to Michigan and Florida." Do-over votes in those states, whose primaries weren't recognized by the Democratic Party for violating scheduling rules, could be her next push. More »

Today’s Ohio Democratic primary is expected to follow sharp demographic lines, with the urban north likely breaking toward Barack Obama and the rural south expected to back Hillary Clinton. The endorsement derby points up the racial dimension, the LA Times reports, with the white, rural governor backing Clinton and the black mayor of Columbus boosting Obama. More »

With the presidential race down to four major candidates, Washington Post blogger Chris Cillizza turns his prognosticating to the second lines on the November ballot. Who’s in the running to be VP: McCain: Mike Huckabee’s a short-list shoo-in, social conservative Tim Pawlenty and McCain go way back, and South Carolina governor Mark Sanford’s a true maverick. More »

The Midwest began massive storm cleanup yesterday as power was restored in southern Michigan after a series of tornadoes, and Ohio residents picked through homes ruined by floods. Hardest hit was Fenton, where at least 250 buildings in the Michigan town were destroyed when six tornadoes touched down in the state on Friday. More »