COLUMBUS, OHIO: Strickland not running from Obama

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Count Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland among the Democrats who have decided to play the hand he has been dealt – meaning not running from the party label and the White House economic record and message.

In an interview Tuesday night, the embattled incumbent said there are hundreds of auto workers in his state whose jobs would "not exist today had it not been for the administration."

"You know, I'm not going to be overly critical because I think what he has done has been of help to us," Strickland said on the eve of President Obama's latest visit to the state.

Ohio has a double-digit unemployment rate, and Strickland trails Republican John Kasich heading into the final eight weeks. "I think people in Ohio and in America are upset with all of us," Strickland said of the tough climate for incumbents and particularly Democrats. "There are no easy answers."