WITH ONLY 24 days left until the general election, Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland was in Bellaire on Saturday to drum up support for the Democratic ticket of senators Barack Obama and Joe Biden.
Strickland, who along with U.S. Rep. Charlie Wilson and Ohio Sen. Jason Wilson, made the stop at the Professional Complex on Jefferson Street shortly after 4 p.m., where he spent time talking to supporters and listening to voters concerns before speaking about the up coming election.
About 30 people attended the outdoor event which lasted about an hour, and the governor said that he hopes voters in Belmont County would support the Democratic ticket.
"This is a good strong Democratic county," he said.
The governor also spoke about the visit of Republican vice-presidential candidate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who is scheduled to be in St. Clairsville at 4 p.m. today at Brush Run Park at Alderman Airport.
The governor said he knows the issues faced by voters in his former 6th Congressional District, which includes most of Belmont County and accused the Republican ticket of using fear tactics.
"Over the next 24 days, they are going to do everything they can get people afraid and to stir-up suspicion," Strickland said. "Gov. Palin is going to be in St. Clairsville, talking in her folksy way. She'll talk about Barack Obama being a buddy with a terrorist. How despicable; how terrible; how awful; when people are hurting and in need of strong leadership that they would engage in that kind of garbage and it is garbage. I believe the people in this part of Ohio are good, common citizens who will turn away from that and support the candidate who will do the right thing for us."
The governor didn't hold back on the gun issue either, saying he, along with Rep. Wilson, are both members of the National Riffle Association and that gun owners do not have to fear an Obama presidency.
"With John McCain, you get to keep your gun, but you may be without a job," he said. "But with Barack Obama, you'll get to keep your gun and your job."
Among those attended the event with the governor where several members of the United Mine Workers of America.
The governor said that he has been making stops throughout the state, including a stop in Cambridge prior to his visit in Bellaire.
While in Cambridge, the governor said he spoke to a coalminer who expressed concerns that other coalminers wouldn't vote for Obama because of his race.
"You know what I told him, 'John L. Lewis would turn over in his grave if he thought coalminers were going to support John McCain,'" Strickland said. "John McCain is not a friend of the working man."
He also attacked McCain for supporting efforts to privatize Social Security.
Following the event, the governor went to Wheeling where he delivered the keynote speech at the Northern Panhandle Jefferson-Jackson Day dinner.
Schuler can be reached at shoe@timesleaderonline.com.
