DeWine: Bland speech, tiny audience: Recipe for disaster

WELL, IT has to be called a train wreck for the candidate and for his host. I refer to Mike DeWine's solo (in nearly more ways than one!) appearance at the Akron Press Club luncheon Tuesday. DeWine, as you may know, is the former Republican senator who is trying to unseat Ohio Atty. Gen. Richard Cordray in November. Speaking almost inaudibly, head down, into his prepared text, DeWine wanted to leave us with the the notion that as attorney general, he would provide "leadership" and would "do better." At least, that's what I think he said. He also opined that the Tea Party had brought into the system "a lot of people passionate about politics." Right.

He reminded the sparse audience (fewer than 35!) which included a few Cordray aides, (one of whom filmed what there was of the speech) and DeWine's wife Fran, that being an unyielding defender of the law and the Constitution, he would file suit against ObamaCare because he considers it unconstitutional. He also attacked Cordray for a sloth-like work of BCI, the state crime lab - delays that have since been dismissed by such independent sources as the Plain Dealer's PolitiFact/Ohio.

DeWine had turned down a Press Club invitation to debate. If he had been the futurist that he claims to be, he would have also rejected the later Press Club offer to let him speak alone. It was an embarrassingly inertial moment for some of the folks. and it could be felt hovering in the dead air. (Cordray, accepted the Press Club's debate invitation, and had to settle for his own solo appearance on Oct. 7.)

He did score a first, however. The skimpy crowd was the smallest audience for a statewide candidate since the Club started sponsoring debates at least a decade ago. Even his former part-time employe, Summit County Republican Chairman Alex Arshinkoff didn't show up for his ex-paymaster. Nor was there a table reserved for Republicans, which was the chairman's call in the past. Tsk. Tsk.

Ok, the event wasn't a total loss. Dewine passed out his wife' s recipe booklet - "Fran DeWine's Family Favorites" - before heading to the lecturn. Besides recipes, that booklet prominently showed his wide-ranging belief in God, Mother and Country. The back of the booklet featured a photo of Mike and his wife, an American flag and what might be mistaken for a religious leaded window. Actually it depicted blind justice.

It couldn't have been more unsettling for the candidate, what with the rain outside and chill in the room.

FOOTNOTE: It was a troubling day of setbacks for the DeWine campaign. The Ohio Tea Party PAC had just announced its endorsement of one of its own, AG candidate Robert Owens of the Constitution Party; the Dayton Daily News, the newspaper in DeWine's Southern Ohio neighborhood, endorsed Cordray, saying the case for him was "overwhelming"' and the Toledo Blade hardly mentioned DeWine in editorially supporting Democrat Cordray for his "honesty and dedication."

The Pirate hostage rant falls overboard

THE AMAZING rescue of Pirate hostage Richard Phillips by Navy Seals on Sunday also kidnapped the right-wing fomentators' latest assault on President Obama as being something of an incompetent  sissy in standing up to America's enemies.  Led, as always, by the wingers Great White Whale, Rush Limbaugh,  Obama was already cast in pig iron as no match against the Somali Pirates, thus proving once again that we are in great risk without someone as tough as, can we say,  George Bush?  The Seals ruined their anti-Obama  rant by killing three of the Pirates and capturing a fourth while demonstrating to the world that we have not lost all of our smarts.  Until the dramatic rescue, the ranters would have you believe that in an Obama-world,  piracy was just another example of our rising mediocrity, no  matter that   it had been occurring all too frequently long before he entered the White House.  Limbaugh's word for it while  including Hilary Clinton in the wrap, was "inept" - as in, these people have no idea in hell about what they are doing. So  it may surprise them that the Associated Press has now reported that the president was in close contact with the rescue mission, getting as many as six briefings a day after  clearing the Seals  to use deadly force if necessary to bring Phillips home safely.     (Would it be fair to ask Rush how he came by such incisive military insights with not a day of military service on his resume?)  The wingers will keep up the beat, insisting perhaps, that a truly concerned president would have been on the scene disguised as one of the Seals.  All of this reminds me of what Dr. Samuel Johnson, the essayist and lexicographer, said about another fellow:  "The worst of Warburton is, that he has a rage for saying something, when there's nothing to be said."