8:03 – Opening statements. Strickland goes first. Sucking up to the audience not thirty seconds in – starts talking about the recession being caused by Washington and Wall Street. Talks about what he’s done. “I’ve balanced two budgets while cutting taxes. We’ve also given senior citizens a large property tax cut by expanding the home state exemption.” Says Kasich tried to eliminate the homestead exemption for seniors, which translates to raising taxes on seniors. Says he’s invested in energy. This is a really good opening statement – Strickland comes off as knowing exactly what he’s talking about, and looks very competent. None of the aimless bleeding heart demeanor he used to show is here. Shifts to Kasich’s record and calls him a “Wall Street congressman.” Accuses him of trying to privatize Social Security, and says Wall Street “rewarded him” with a job. Says the choice is between two value systems – Wall Street value systems and Ohio values.

8:06 – Kasich begins talking. He looks scared. “There have been 41 other states in America that have outperformed us.” This may just be the High Definition TV, but he also looks haggard. Says you shouldn’t put things off ‘til tomorrow that you can do today, and accuses Strickland of being selfish with respect to taxpayer money. The TV cuts out mid-statement. Then comes back. Kasich is talking about jobs, and says he has a record of actually bringing prosperity of the state. Wants to return to public life because he believes “we can make government more efficient and more effective.” Uses the metaphor of a six foot pile of regulations to describe how overregulated the economy is. “You need to know the National Federation of Independent Businesses and the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, for the first time in 117 years, said I was the one to vote for.” Kasich is being positive – maybe the negative part was cut out by the malfunction.

8:09 – Question 1 for Kasich: Toledo is a leader in solar industry. Would you preserve the standards that lead to solar industry jobs?

8:10 – Kasich says you don’t want to leave businesses uncompetitive with mandates. Says Ohio’s lost 15 factories to surrounding areas, and argues that while alternative energy is great, you don’t want to hang your hat on regulation to get there. Says you need to push all sorts of other industries (many of which Strickland has, coincidentally, failed to make successful). Talks about a “portfolio of businesses” and says “Ohioans are diverse. We have to have a diverse economy.”

8:11 – Strickland response, “We do have a diverse economy. That’s why I developed Ohio’s hubs program.” I have to say, Governor, you don’t want to talk about the hubs. That’s been covered by this blog before, and it’s a disaster. Drops a bunch of statistics about alternative energy. How does the regulation make that happen, Strickland? Still sounding confident, and then accuses Kasich of not knowing about cost caps.

8:13 – Kasich sounds angry. Brings up the CEOs saying Ohio’s one of the worst states to start a business. “I don’t think your administration understands how to promote entrepreneurship.”

8:14 – Question 2 for Strickland: How would you deal with a budget shortfall of billions of dollars? Name two areas of the budget where you’d raise revenue or cut spending? What would be off the table?

8:14 – Strickland sounds uncertain and blames budget crisis on recessions. He’s starting to look shaky. “I won’t make matters worse by saying I’m going to eliminate our state income tax.” That is not. an. ANSWER. Even so, Strickland goes back to being confident, even though he stumbles. Says he’s demonstrated that he’s willing to make cuts, but what would he cut? Whines about how tough it would be to make cuts that are necessary. Absolutely no specifics in this answer. “I’ve done it for two budgets. I will do it in the future.”

8:16 – Kasich says Strickland raided funds, and securitized tobacco. Blasts Strickland, bringing up specific tax raises Strickland used. “If you don’t have a state where you can lower the costs of doing business,” then you’re in trouble. Says he won’t raise taxes, and also says he has a history of budget-cutting, reforming, providing tax cuts and simplifying the operations of government. Still not saying what specifically he’d cut. It’s a slam dunk, Kasich – just say you’d cut government workers’ salaries.

8:17 – Strickland says “What you have done, John, is outsource jobs.” Strickland now sounds angry. This doesn’t have anything to do with the question. Doesn’t even try to deny that he’d raise taxes.

8:18 – Question 3 for Kasich: Strickland agreed to put off a planned state income tax cut. With the budget problems facing the state, you just said you won’t raise taxes, but can you promise Ohioans that tax cut will take effect?

8:18 – Kasich: Yes. Uses metaphor of a restaurant raising prices. “When you have a recession, you have to aggressively move to lower taxes. If you want to be the governor of this state, and run around and bash companies, you aren’t going to attract people.” Points out that Invacare now has higher employment thanks to his adjustments. Kasich is on fire after that shaky start. “Every Ohioan could only pray they could get a 9.7 percent raise.”

8:20 – Strickland is also angry. Tells the fact-checkers to check what Kasich just said because “it isn’t accurate.” Yes, it is. Battle ‘10 has seen the statements from Invacare. Says if they’d cut taxes, they’d have had to cut social services. Strickland is still angry. This debate is escalating. “You can’t spend money you don’t have.” Says Kasich has no option but to raise property taxes.

8:21 – Kasich says Strickland’s been asleep at the wheel. “If you’d done what you’d promised to do, you’d have dealt with the tax situation, but instead you raised spending. You hired people back after firing them. People are paying more taxes because you denied a tax cut.” Vicious.

8:21 – Question 4 for Strickland: How would you make the government financially sounds? Cut pay for public employees or raise taxes?

8:22 – Strickland says “I have great difficulty with double dipping,” IE hiring people back after firing them. Apparently Strickland also has great difficulty with irony. “I urge transparency. Double dipping is being abused.” Says the public pension system needs to be solvent, and in order to make it solvent, all parties have to come together and work in good faith. This from the guy who slams the entire business community. Still, Strickland is sounding like a manager in this answer. Has not hit Kasich in the entire answer.

8:23 – Kasich says “Double dipping absolutely has to be reviewed, and you have to have an actuarily sound pension system.” Talks about his record in Congress dealing with dumping the public school payments into Social Security. “When you went into the government, you were assured of similar benefits, but the tradeoff was you didn’t get paid as much.” Also a positive answer. Talks about people being scared about their pensions and job security. “We must make sure that we don’t create more inequity where a person who’s working every day is supporting somebody in the public sector.” There has to be some real give-and-take here. He’s dancing so close to talking about cutting employee benefits in the public sector…

8:25 – Strickland screws it all and goes negative. Accuses Kasich of trying to destroy pensions by getting them to invest with Lehman Brothers. “Solvency’s important, but we need to make sure the investments are sound investments.”