Journal-News.com

HAMILTON — What does Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland think Sen. Barack Obama must do to court votes in Butler County and across small-town Ohio? Talk about jobs — now.

"Ohioans are concerned about the economy, and the candidate that talks most convincingly about what they are going to do to get this economy back on track... I think that's the candidate who is going to win," Strickland said in an interview with the JournalNews.

This isn't the only advice Strickland — who became the state's first Democratic governor elected in 20 years in 2006 — has been giving the Democratic nominee.

Another: Campaign in rural areas, not just in traditionally Democratic urban centers. This is what Sen. John Kerry failed to do in 2004, Strickland said, and it's how the governor won the state.

Strickland said Obama has a better economic message than his Republican rival, Sen. John McCain.

"I believe if you listen to the McCain campaign on the substantive economic issues, there's not a dime's worth of difference between his proposals and what the current administration is now doing," Strickland said.

Obama, on the other hand, has specific plans in regard to energy, tax cuts and health care that, "taken together provide a blueprint for rebuilding the economy," Strickland said.

But even with that message and a bullhorn, Strickland conceded that Obama may not carry Butler County, where the number of votes President Bush received in 2004 is comparable to the amount Kerry received in 2004 plus the number Strickland received in 2006.

But he could take the edge off McCain's lead, Strickland said, putting Obama within reach of the state's 20 electoral votes by making up the difference in Democratic strongholds.

"Although you may not win every county, it's important to get every vote you can get out of each county," Strickland said. "If a candidate can get 46 percent instead of 32 percent, it makes a huge difference."

And with Ohio being key in November's election — "I think when the votes are counted in Ohio we will know who the president is," he said — Strickland is as much cheerleader as adviser.

"I said to the senator, 'I think you can win this state,'" he said.

Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2175 or jsweigart@coxohio.com.