DeWine and Brown present clear differences in important race
2006-10-16
Source: Dayton Daily News
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rss feedThis year's race for Ohio's seat in the U.S. Senate represents more than a battle between a two-term incumbent and a feisty and ambitious challenger, as political control of Congress is also in play.
In ordinary times, an incumbent senator fighting for his political life would be sufficient to make this the headline act when voters cast their ballots in November - especially if you believe polls showing the governor's race, the other high-profile contest, all but decided.
That Sen. Mike DeWine, a moderately conservative Republican from the Miami Valley, is neck and neck with a liberal Democratic congressman is an eyebrow-raiser. How can an incumbent, and a member of the party in control of the White House and Congress, be pinned on the ropes? Especially against a guy most folks hereabouts hardly heard of before now?
No surprise to U.S. Rep. Sherrod Brown, who views his race as a referendum on the direction the Bush administration has taken the country. A vote for Brown is a telegram to Washington signaling voter dissatisfaction with the war in Iraq, the exploding national debt and the raiding of the Social Security trust fund. That's his pitch, anyway.
What's DeWine selling?
He says he's not really the George W. Bush handmaiden Brown portrays. He was a member of the "Gang of 14" that sought to bring moderation to the Senate with regard to judicial appointments. And he argues he's the better man to represent Ohio's interests. And for voters here, he knows our needs; he's one of us.
Not so fast, says Brown.
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