"Man, I went to college in the '70s, and I know protest. This is weak!"

In 2008, Barack Obama won Athens County 66%-31%.

In 2006, Ted Strickland won Athens County 82%-16%.

Well, in 2010 John Kasich is campaigning deep in Democrat-heavy Athens County and has an overwhelmingly enthusiastic organization pushing to Get Out the Vote despite the county-wide registration disadvantage.

75 volunteers packed the Athens County HQ to hear Kasich's message.

In response, deep blue Athens County provided their best attempt at opposition:

Four sorta goofy looking protestors.

Kasich's response?

"What's going on out there?" Kasich asked, hearing the commotion.

"You made a lot of money, and they don't like it," a member of the supportive crowd inside explained sarcastically.

"Man, I went to college in the '70s, and I know protest," joked the candidate. "This is weak!"

If Athens County ends up being anywhere even close to competitive, Ted Strickland is in deep trouble.