Strickland/Cleland event in Dayton

Last night I posted that Max Cleland would be endorsing Ted Strickland for Governor of Ohio, and would be appearing with him at events across Ohio today. I very much wanted to be able to attend the Columbus event and provide a first hand report complete with photos. Sadly, I wasn't able to attend, so when Susan D. commented that she'd been to the event in Dayton, I asked if she could write something up for those who weren't able to be there. Thanks for agreeing to share what you could remember about the event, Susan--I know you weren't expecting that there would be a quiz. ;-)
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Senator Cleland was introduced by a young representative who has just come home from his FOURTH deployment to Iraq! He spoke about knowing he could trust Ted Strickland. He spoke about the fact that Strickland has fought hard to see that the troops were supplied in a timely manner, that vehicles were uparmored, etc. Of course, he praised Senator Cleland as he introduced him.

Ted Strickland goes to all the funerals for Iraqi veterans in his district. (Side note: When Strickland spoke to us in Columbus for the DFO meeting, he told us that he has returned his government pay raises, and that he refused the medical insurance for elected officials. He and his wife pay for their own. He said he comes from a poor district and he doesn't want to put himself above his constituents.) Strickland spoke about the embarrassment of having such a corrupt State government. He talked about the fact that people in the age range from 26 - 44 are leaving Ohio because they can't build a life here. He said Ohioans are deeply patriotic and our government, national and local, hasn't done right by them. He spoke about the fact that people need to be able to trust their government.

Sen. Cleland has a great sense of humor! The event took place at Memorial Hall in Dayton. He said, "I noticed that you have a cannon out there on the lawn. I just want to let you know (pause, smile) we have cannons in Georgia too. They're all pointed North."

He said that Strickland is "for real". He doesn't go to the funerals for political reasons; he goes because it's in his heart. Basically just spoke about what a good man Ted Strickland is, and how good he'd be for Ohio. Senator Cleland got a standing ovation at the end.

There were only about fifty of us (because of weekday/workday), but they'd seated us in the lobby rotunda, so our applause sounded like 500 people.