Attorney General Jim Petro, Republican gubernatorial hopeful, recently announced that he had chosen Ohio Sen. Joy Padgett, R-Coshocton, as his running mate. It is fitting that Petro - who has come under fire for using ultra-conservative, religious-based propaganda to gain support during the primary election -choose the queen of low-blow campaigning herself. Together, the two masterminds of working the system (and the public) would have a solid chance against any Democratic nominee, assuming Petro can edge out his Republican primary competitor - Ohio Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell in May.
It seems as if Petro was searching for a standard run-of-the-mill conservative and that's what he got with Padgett. Also, Padgett does address Petro's need to appeal to all regions of Ohio, especially Southeastern Ohio, because leading Democratic nominee U.S. Rep. Ted Strickland, D-Lisbon, has a strong following in this region. It cannot be forgotten that Padgett has proved that she is more than willing to do what it takes to win, as seen in her bitter campaign against Terry Anderson last year. It seems that Petro has chosen to continue steadfast in his no-holds-barred strategy.
During Padgett's 2004 campaign against Anderson, she unfairly twisted Anderson's captivity in Lebanon and the fact that he was a member of the so-called liberal media to her advantage. Producing fliers of a photograph of Anderson with one of his middle-eastern captors normally would illicit sympathy for Anderson; however, by claiming he was soft on terrorism, his ill-fated experience was turned against him. Unfortunately, the fact that an Ohio senator has little to do with preventing terrorism escaped the voting public, and Padgett was victorious.
Although this heavily right-wing religious powerhouse seemingly is attempting to shift voters' gazes from real issues to more of a debate on religion and morality, it is just the sort of campaign strategy that works during the primary elections. Trailing Blackwell by only 10 percentage points, Petro's strategy of looking ahead to the general election might pay huge dividends should he overtake Blackwell. The results of the general election will tell if working the system really works.
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Padgett a calculated choice for Petro
