A bit of clarification for Governor Strickland...

Ted Strickland was interviewed today by a gaggle of reporters and it seems the Plain Dealer endorsement of John Kasich in particular has gotten under his skin.

He was asked to describe why the Plain Dealer endorsed Kasich over him. His answer was hysterical.

"As I read it, it was sorta like this.  'Ted Strickland is a solid guy. He hasn't done a terrible job, but he's a little boring. John Kasich's really exciting. And we don't know what he might do, but he'll bring some excitement so we'll endorse him with trepidation.'"

Clearly, Ted Strickland's reading comprehension level is stuck in the 3rd grade.

In fact, the Plain Dealer has a few more problems with Strickland than how exciting he's been as Governor. Here's how the Plain Dealer editoral really reads:

Strickland, 69, suffers from limited imagination and political timidity; at times, he seems almost shellshocked by the loss of 400,000 jobs on his watch. He told The Toledo Blade last week that his administration should have moved faster to prevent Ohio businesses from fleeing to other states. He has consistently mistaken talk for action, produced budgets held together with bubble gum and twine and allowed his team to adopt a siege mentality. He stumbled badly on gambling, treated Ohio's cities as stepchildren and, in a shameful kowtow to his union allies, waged war on effective charter schools.

Even when his heart and mind are in the right place, Strickland can't or won't be daring. He ran for governor in 2006 -- with this editorial page's support -- promising to overhaul public education. After more than two years of study, he unveiled a blueprint for Ohio's classrooms that fobbed off many of the toughest decisions, including how to pay for it all, on some future administration.

Add to those disappointments Strickland's relentlessly negative campaign, his inability to articulate a vision for the state and the ennui that overtakes most lame-duck administrations, and there's little reason for excitement about Ohio's future under his leadership.

Oh, and he's boring.

As for Kasich? This is why the Plain Dealer prefers him over Strickland:

But then consider the needs of this state. Ohio needs to jumpstart an economy that was struggling even before the Great Recession. It needs to convince skeptical investors that its many assets -- top-shelf colleges and research institutions, solid transportation infrastructure, abundant freshwater, a Midwestern work ethic and a revamped tax code -- matter more than its reputation for stodginess and conflict. It needs to convince its ambitious young people that this is a great place to dream, innovate and achieve. And, for now anyway, it needs to do it all while digging out of a giant budget hole.

A can-do, roll-the-dice mindset just might enable Ohio to regain its self-confidence and sell itself to the world. Kasich has it; nice guy Ted Strickland never will.

Kasich showed, as House Budget chair the last time Washington used black ink, that he could cross partisan lines and get results. He also showed in Congress that although he is personally conservative, he has no time for divisive hot-button tactics; Ohio doesn't, either.

So we recommend John Richard Kasich for governor. With trepidation to be sure, but also with a belief that Ohio must take a risk to reap the rewards its citizens sorely need.

As a Kasich supporter, I'd like to thank the Governor for once again trying to publicize the Plain Dealer's endorsement of Kasich. It's great publicity and sincerely appreciated as we keep digging deeper and deeper into your base of support.