Tom is Ted's guy.

When Gov. Ted Strickland re-appointed Thomas Charles as Ohio Inspector General he had this to say:

"Thomas understands that integrity and accountability play critical roles in our state government," Strickland said. "He has played an absolutely essential role in beginning the process of restoring Ohioans' trust and faith in their government. I'm proud to ask him to continue his work."

Well, I guess that only lasts until he comes a knockin' at your door.

Scurrying to stamp out a smoldering scandal before it becomes a wildfire, Gov. Ted Strickland and an attorney for his top public-safety administrator questioned the veracity of an investigation into an aborted sting at the Governor's Residence.

Strickland today strongly rejected allegations in a report by state Inspector General Thomas P. Charles that Public Safety Director Cathy Collins-Taylor lied under oath, saying "she's done nothing wrong."

And Collins-Taylor's attorney, Charles "Rocky" Saxbe, went a step further, calling Charles' report so "scurrilous" and containing such "fabrications" to arrive at a predetermined outcome that Charles' office is the one that should be investigated.

Saxbe portrayed Charles as bitter about the administration's handling of State Highway Patrol matters, charging he used the Governor's Residence investigation as "a platform for him to pursue a personal agenda."

Ah, the politics of attacking the source rather than confronting the substance. A classic Democratic tactic.

Now as a sidenote, I found something intriguing about how the Dispatch framed the above article.

Last night they posted the text of the above article with this headline:


That's accurate. Collins-Taylor was accused of lying under oath. The Governor is defending her. That's quite a story.

But it's not the headline that ran with the exact same article in the print version of the Dispatch this morning.

Why the change, Dispatch?