Ken Blackwell worries me. I mean, sure, he’s the sort of guy who should be easy to beat. As Buckeye State Blog says, in a summary of the Akron Beacon-Journal’s endorsement of Blackwell’s primary opponent Jim Petro, “The short version – Petro is terrible, but Ken Blackwell is bonkers.”

And headines that look bad for Blackwell keep surfacing. Here’s one:

Blackwell holdings prompt questions

Makers of slots, morning-after pill among his stocks

Wow, that can’t go over too well with his base in the religious right…
“We think he should divest of any company that supports the culture of death,” said Denise Mackura, executive director of the Ohio Right to Life Society.

Yeah, that’s what I expected. So, why am I worried that he can still manage to win? Oh, that’s right–because he’s in charge of the voting machines. And owned stock in them.

And he was endorsed very early on by “straight-talker” John McCain. (Maybe the “straight-talk” thing just refers to his willingness to cozy up to the gay-bashers…)

“Ohioans need Ken Blackwell’s clear thinking, straight talk and strong leadership at the top of the ticket,” McCain said in a written statement.

Wow. He’s pretty clearly sold his soul. Wonder if the payoff–if granted–could possibly be worth it.

But back to Ken Blackwell–check out his history in this Wikipedia article. I know those aren’t always 100% accurate, but anything glaringly incorrect is usually caught and corrected, especially in an article about someone as high profile as Blackwell. But this is backed up by his own bio:

He was recruited to leadership in the Republican Party by President Ronald Reagan and many of his advisors, including Jack Kemp, Lynn Nofziger, Jeanne Kirkpatrick and Ed Rollins. In 1989 Ken was appointed by President George H.W. Bush as an undersecretary to the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), serving under then Secretary Kemp.

Anybody get the feeling this guy has some powerful people looking out for him?