The National Rifle Association makes its first general-election endorsement of the year: Ted Strickland, governor of Ohio, a Democrat.

I understand why the NRA operates as a single-issue organization; Strickland has given the NRA no real reason to oppose him. But with Ohio’s unemployment rate at 10.9 percent — above 14 percent in 13 counties! — there are probably a lot of Ohio gun owners who would like to see a better economic future for their state, a better economic future that Strickland has failed to deliver.

Beyond that, how often do you hear a politician say, “I was wrong”? Because that’s precisely what Strickland’s GOP rival, former congressman John Kasich, said about his vote for the assault-weapons ban back in 2004.