Stay classy, Ted.

We had already figured Ted Strickland would need to go drastically negative to stand a chance in this race.

But we didn't think he'd be this transparent about it.

Sandy Theis, a former Columbus bureau chief for the Plain Dealer, joined the campaign Dec. 1 and will be "focusing mainly on communications," she said.

Since leaving the Plain Dealer in 2006, Theis has been a communications consultant involved in a number of the state's biggest and nastiest fights: utility regulation, casino gambling and the Democratic battle for the U.S. Senate. Theis is a communications consultant for Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner senate campaign. Brunner, of course, faces Strickland's former running mate and Ohio Lt. Governor Lee Fisher.

Now, Theis' reputation is nothing many didn't already know about, but I talked to a longtime veteran of Ohio politics to get more of a scoop on the new Strickland crony.

As anyone who's been around the Statehouse for more than a few years knows, she was the queen of hatchet journalism, gotcha stories, and half-baked attacks--and she prided herself on it. She was not popular with her fellow members of the Statehouse press corps, nor her PD colleagues, and she frequently clashed with PD editor Doug Clifton. She's the perfect person to dig up dirt for Ted.

Clearly, her hire is an indication of just how negative Strickland plans on getting in this campaign. He's resorted to hiring a flak whose specialty is negative attacks and digging up dirt.

But what's particularly astounding is it's also an indication of Strickland's desperation that he hired her...wait for it...despite the fact that she already is working against his sitting Lieutenant Governor!

Makes you wonder how Fisher feels about that.