Back to reality.

While it's easy to get caught up in the horse race that is a statewide campaign, Ohio still is facing an unfortunate reality.

And today we found out once again how bad it's become.

From Fortune 500 magazine/CNN Money:

Meredith Whitney, the superstar analyst who famously forecast disaster for America's big banks before the credit crisis struck, is now warning about another looming threat: The wreckage from over-stretched state budgets.

Today, Whitney is releasing a 600-page report, colorfully entitled "The Tragedy of the Commons," that rates the financial condition of America's 15 largest states, measured by their GDP. Whitney claims that the study is the most comprehensive, in-depth analysis of the states' murky patterns of spending, revenues and benefits programs ever assembled by the government, foundations, or another research firm.

[...]

In the report, Whitney rates the fifteen states on four criteria, their economy, fiscal health, housing, and taxes. For each category, she assigns a rating of one, two or three for best, neutral or negative.

And guess where Ohio'sranked?

2nd worst.

The report hasn't been released quite yet, but we'll be sure to link back at it so we can just how sorry a state Strickland has left Ohio.