Blackwell trailing in polls, opts to ditch last vestiges of integrity

This might not be the smartest move on Ken Blackwell's part. I'll grant that Strickland's having a former aid with a conviction for exposing himself to a minor is relevant (though Strickland claims he didn't know of the conviction until 1998 and then he only heard from an anonymous source, and upon confronting the aid, the aid denied it). However, the GOP's efforts to bootstrap this fact into an allegation that Strickland is gay is, well, embarrassing. It smacks of sheer desperation. The allegation doesn't have any teeth. What they have is the fact that Strickland and this same young aid went on a trip to Naples, Italy back in that time frame. Its one thing for hacks like Sean Hannity and Bill Cunningham to run with this innuendo, but its another when Blackwell's campaign then distributes it (the campaign has circulated transcript of Cunningham on Hannity's radio show making the allegation that the aid was Strickland's "boy toy"). Blackwell looks pretty two-faced, claiming he doesn't care about Strickland's sexuality on the one hand, and circulating the transcript on the other. It seems rather gutless of him to make the accusations in such an underhanded way (nevermind the fact that Strickland's sexuality is, in fact, irrelevant to his ability to govern). What's particularly amusing is just a few months ago, an Ohio GOP staffer was canned for circulating e-mails questioning the sexuality of Strickland and his wife. Ohio GOP Chair Bob Bennett even apologized for the incident. Now its the canidate slinging the allegations, whither will come the apology?