Is Bush Giving Up Ohio?

This from Slate today:

"Bush seems to have forgotten about Ohio, too. 'The Bush campaign is confident it can win the state; as if to prove its comfort level, today marks 14 days since the Republican president last set foot in Ohio,' Cleveland's Plain Dealer wrote this past Saturday. By the time Bush arrives in Canton tomorrow, he'll have gone 19 days without campaigning in the Buckeye State. His last stop here was in Cuyahoga Falls on Oct. 2."

I have been trying to figure out why the Bushies would hand Kerry Ohio, but I just can't come up with a viable strategic reason. The only rationale I can conjure is that Rove is so confident and arrogant that he is out to undo that horrible oft-cited factoid, "No Republican has ever won the presidency without winning Ohio." Could it be that he is just trying to throw conventional wisdom on its ear?
Honestly, I think this is an incredibly risky strategic move even for Rove and company. I also think it will be the mistake that everyone points to as Bush's lost oppurtunity to be re-elected. Because he will lose Ohio, and he will lose this election.

Posted by Paul Hina at October 21, 2004 11:16 PM