Strickland dives into the health care debate pool....

.....and finds that no one filled it with water.

Oops.

One of the more interesting aspects of Senator Harry Reid's plan to allow states to opt out of government run health care was that it, for the first time, really pushed state leaders to speak out on the plan.

And Ted Strickland took the bait.

Gov. Ted Strickland says he'd rather let Ohioans participate in the government-run health insurance program being planned by congressional Democrats, despite the option to let the state say no.

Now, this statement is particularly interesting when you look at the timing of some research found in today's Wall Street Journal.

How will ObamaCare affect insurance premiums in the private health-care markets? Despite indignant Democratic denials, the near-certainty is that their plan will cause costs to rise across the board.

[...]

...a 40-year-old husband and wife with two kids would see their premiums jump by 122%—to $737 from $332—while a small business with eight employees in Franklin County would see premiums climb by 86%. It's true that the family or the individual might qualify for subsidies if their incomes are low enough, but the business wouldn't qualify under the Senate Finance bill...

In short, Ted Strickland would force Ohio to opt-in to government run health care, despite studies that show small businesses would see their premiums climb by 86%.

Like our side really needed more ammo for comparative commercials next fall.

But what option did Strickland really have? He needs Obama on his good side, and considering his initial support for Hillary, Strickland needs to do what he can to kiss some presidential butt.

But considering the opt-out clause is all but dead thanks to Joe Lieberman, one has to wonder if it was worth saying anything at all.