Ted Strickland appears to have decided that bringing his wife on the campaign trail is a good option. Judging by the results, he’s right about one thing — Francis Strickland sure isn’t as tone deaf as Michelle Obama. The Wheeling News-Register has the story:
Ohio first lady Francis Strickland – the state’s self-appointed “minister of fun” – brought her guitar and singing voice to St. Clairsville on Friday to inspire Democratic faithful.
Strickland was the guest of honor during a reception at the home of U.S. Rep. Charles Wilson, D-Ohio. Earlier in the day, she attended a meet-and-greet event at Abdalla’s Tavern in Stratton.[…]
“Your support this year is even more important today than it was in 2006,” she told the private gathering of about 12 people in St. Clairsville. “And it means three times as much that you’re here. It means you still have faith in what we are trying to accomplish.
“You know we have to keep moving Ohio forward. If we stop, we get run over – or worse, get left behind,” she said.
Strickland noted that the favorite singer of Ted Strickland is Johnny Cash. And she performed for those attending a song she wrote, “Let’s Keep Ohio Moving,” to the tune of Cash’s “Folsom Prison Blues.”
The words to the song and others she has crafted for the campaign are available on the campaign’s website, and Strickland’s hope the songs will provide both inspiration and levity during what is expected to be a tense campaign.
“I believe the harder you work, the more fun you are supposed to have,” she said.
A native of Kentucky, Strickland said she feels much at home in East Ohio, an area Ted Strickland represented for six years in Congress.
“It’s nice to come back where you know the people,” she said. “It feels like home. And you can have more fun when you feel like you’re at home.”
So she comes from Kentucky, wants to have fun with the people, sings and plays guitar and re-writes Johnny Cash songs in the service of her husband’s campaign. I can’t say anything for Ted Strickland, but I’d like to propose something else: Why doesn’t President Obama just tell Michelle to stay overseas indefinitely, and invite this woman to come pretend to be First Lady for a while? If nothing else, it might stop his precipitous descent in the polls.