Reactions from Ohio's conservatives has been quick and sharp.  In a release published at Weapons of Mass Discussion, the Republican that is presumed to take on Strickland in 2010 --John Kasich -- had this to say:

At this time when Ohio's economy is in a death spiral and losing tens of thousands of jobs, it is concerning that the Governor spent less than 10% of his State of the State speech laying out his plans to turn the economy around and create more jobs in this state.

His solution for the state's economic crises relies on a one-time federal bailout, rehashed state tax credits and "optimism", rather than a new business plan that provides incentives for economic growth and job creation.

It is ironic that the Governor opened his speech talking about the construction of Ohio Stadium after World War I. Today Ohio Stadium could be more than sold out with those who have lost their jobs under the Governor's watch.

Our unemployment rate is the highest it's been in 22 years, and we've lost 111,600 jobs in the last two years. 13.2% of Ohioans live in poverty and nearly 1 in 10 Ohioans now receive food stamps. Ohio ranks 48th in per-capita personal income growth and almost 7,000 young people left the state last year.

Ohio needs to find new and innovative ways to stimulate and sustain job creation. Unfortunately there was no new vision in the Governor's speech for moving Ohio ahead in this area.

The bottom line is that Ohioans deserve leadership that will lower taxes, unburden Ohio businesses from unnecessary regulation and reward those who invest in innovative new ideas to create new jobs.

 

State Senator Kevin Coughlin wasn't impressed:

"Two years and three State of the State addresses into Governor Ted Strickland's term and Ohio shows no signs of turning around. The state is adrift and nothing in today's speech gave Ohioans reason to believe that will change anytime soon.

"The governor's address was long on promises and devoid of details, particularly on how his promises will be paid for and who will pay.

"Most troubling, the governor's speech almost ignored the single most pressing issue facing Ohio's families and businesses - the downward spiraling of our economy. Ted Strickland must come to grips with this reality: It is simply too expensive for employers to create and keep jobs in Ohio."

The Buckeye Institute released several statements on a few segments of the governor's speech:

School District Performance Audits
"If the governor intended to increase school district accountability by allowing the Ohio Department of Education to conduct performance audits, he missed the mark. That is like putting the fox in charge of the hen house. The State Auditor currently does a good job of making school districts accountable through comprehensive performance audits. The governor should not take away the State Auditor's authority or add another layer of bureaucracy to the current performance audit process. A better move would be to expand the State Auditor's performance audit responsibility."

Teacher Merit Pay
"We had hoped the governor would address needed education reforms such as teacher merit pay. Merit pay works because it injects quality into the teacher pay system. Better teachers will earn more, and bad teachers are weeded out."

Dropout Recovery Charter Schools
"While the governor seemed to soften his opposition to charter schools, he was wrong to attack dropout recovery schools run by for-profit operators. These recovery schools salvage lives because they take in students traditional public schools fail to nurture and teach. These schools put students back on a path to learning and future economic prosperity.

"The governor instead signaled his intention to limit the effectiveness of these schools. Children who have been failed by traditional public schools need more options, not less. If for-profit charter schools can accomplish the task, why not let them?"

Our friends from the Ohio GOP in Columbus are in Washington DC for the RNC meeting, so reaction from them was not available at the time of publishing.