Been there, wish we hadn't done that may well be the reaction of many Ohioans to news former Gov. Ted Strickland may run for governor again.
Strickland, out of office for less than a year after being defeated by Gov. John Kasich, revealed during a trip to Cleveland he is considering a rematch. He was highly critical of the Kasich administration.
Four years of mismanagement under Strickland probably were enough for most Buckeye State residents. They are well aware that sacrifices being made now might not have been as severe if Strickland had acted more quickly to address budget imbalances.
We were among those who warned, early in Strickland's one-term administration, that Ohio state government was drowning in a sea of red ink. But the Democrat governor insisted voices of caution were wrong. He and many legislators - both Republicans and Democrats, it should be noted - said the state's budget was fine.
It was not. For four years Strickland and the General Assembly relied on over-optimistic predictions, shifting expenses into the future, one-time federal "stimulus" money and other fiscal smoke and mirrors to insist state government did not have to worry about major belt tightening.
When Kasich came into office earlier this year, he and legislators had to deal with a two-year budget in which there was an $8 billion gap between expected revenue and planned spending. It required severe cutbacks in spending, including some affecting schools and local governments, to close the hole.
Strickland was told over and over again something had to be done to get Ohio's budget back in balance. He took virtually no substantial action to do so.
Again, that made it even tougher for the new governor and legislators to deal with the crisis.
Perhaps Strickland hopes that between now and the 2014 election, voters will forget and forgive his lapses. We doubt that will happen. Too many Ohioans still are suffering because of bad government under Strickland. They will not be eager for another round of it.
