Moderate Democrats Turn Away From Barack Obama … Ohio Gov Ted Strickland Says No to VP Position

Ohio Governor says no to Obama VP position.

A funny thing happened on the way to the general election, Barack Obama is finding it difficult to get the Veep position filled by a uniting candidate in a swing state. Ohio is an all important battle ground state in November. A state that Obama lost in the Democratic primaries to Hillary Clinton. The news just got a bit worse for Obama as Ohio Governor Ted Strickland stated he will not run with Obama as VP.

ABC News’ Teddy Davis and John Santucci Report: Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland (D) was Shermanesque on Tuesday in saying that he would “absolutely not” be Sen. Barack Obama’s, D-Ill., running mate even if asked to join the Democratic ticket.

Asked on NPR’s “All Things Considered” if he is auditioning to be Obama’s running mate, Strickland said, “Absolutely not. If drafted I will not run, nominated I will not accept and if elected I will not serve.

So, I don’t know how more crystal clear I can be.”

So much for gaining that candidate in an all important must win battle ground state like Ohio. There will be no Obama-Strickland ticket and Obama’s chances of victory in Ohio just became more difficult. What is more interesting about this decision by Strickland is that he is a staunch Hillary Clinton supporter. What does that tell us about the Democratic party so-called coming together after the bitterly contested primary?

To add just a little bit more Democratic party unity, Democratic Representative Dan Boren of Oklahoma stated that Barack Obama is “the most liberal senator” in Congress and he has no intention of endorsing him for the White House. So much for support from moderate Democrats. As most had suspected, many moderate Dems find Obama to liberal to endorse.

“I think this is an important time for our country,” Boren said in a telephone interview. “We’re facing a terrible economic downturn. We have high gasoline prices. We have problems in our foreign policy. That’s why I think it’s important.”

Boren, the lone Democrat in Oklahoma’s congressional delegate, said that while Obama has talked about working with Republicans, “unfortunately, his record does not reflect working in a bipartisan fashion.”