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May
14
What a day.
It started with this excellent post by Jeff at Ohio Daily Blog and ends with a full slate of MSM and blogger stories on Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann’s resignation.
Even solidly conservative Ohioans recommend against the scorched-earth tactics Ohio Republican Party Kevin DeWine is gesticulating about.
Plunderbund has a post with info on the new Interim Attorney General, Tom Winters.
The Cleveland Free Times’ Free Blog has a sensationalistic story up about a woman who allegedly had an affair with Dann in the late 1980s.
I was privy to rumors galore today - frankly, it was pretty sickening - not the rumors themselves but the pace of the emails with them and the range of what they alleged. I didn’t research a single one, for a variety of reasons.
I actually didn’t sense Dann to be as contrite as I thought Eliot Spitzer was, but I do believe that he is relieved - he has got to be relieved in some way. I still believe that he is facing a much harder challenge, and more pain, by going home and doing what he must to salvage, repair and continue on with his family and home life. But we really do only have one life to live - seriously. No job, title or threat is worth screwing all that up.
I thought Ted Strickland spoke at a perfect pitch in general and in response to the questions. Again, people should enjoy underestimating him, because four out of five times, he’s still going to come out on the right side of it all.
As for what’s next, the impeachment articles most likely will be dropped very soon, but the inspector general investigation that began today with a raid and seizure of computers from the AG’s offices will continue. There was no deal related to dropping them (and Strickland said no other kind of deal related to anything else either).
Tom Winter, a deputy in the office, will become interim AG - I don’t know if that’s interim or acting. But Strickland can appoint someone to fill the role through to January 2009, though in November, there will be an election to fill the AG post through January 2011.
With Marc Dann’s departure, I am ceasing operations of The Daily Dann. There’s just way too much else going on and there’s an appointment and an election to consider. Never a dull day in the heart of it all.
Sphere: Related ContentBy Jill Miller Zimon at 10:38 pm May 14th, 2008 in Ted Strickland, Gender, Marc Dann, Scandal, Government, Media, Ohio, Women, Politics
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9 Responses to “Last Edition: The Daily Dann, 5/14/08”
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Too bad. I think there will be enough material for at least a few more DD’s.
Thanks, Red. I actually liked doing just the one round-up but you know, he’s gone from the office. There will be plenty to write I’m sure about the investigation but frankly, I’d rather focus on so many other things that I haven’t been able to get to.
Plus there’s the Stephanie Studebaker angle - let them work it out outside the glare of the blogs etc. I have no interest in compounding his problems. He’s done what we wanted him to do and what he should have done in the first place. Let’s move on to the next challenge.
tawdry, sure, but “sensationalistic”? that’s not very nice.
Well - it hits me that way - esp. given the fact that there’s no question the guy personally has got to be a mess right now. It feels like piling on, well, it felt like piling on to me - which to me rings of making a sensation.
But I agree - not everyone might read it that way. Just describing it the way I read it - which I did do! so you got me there.
piling on? absolutely. but you’ll have to excuse my lack of empathy, the “mess” is entirely his own making, and he’s hardly the only one who will pay some kind of price. more to the point though — and this is not a jab, though it may sound like one — I can’t quite get my head around the difference between linking to scandal (daily, for weeks on end) and reporting on another element of it. motes and beams come to mind. but again, not trying to pick on you, just noting another way of looking at looking at (and one more because we’re bloggers) looking at it.
Interesting points. Jim Renner, whom I always enjoy reading, can sometimes get a little over the top in his endless entusiasm for investigating everything (perhaps most famously in the case of investigating an entire Lake Erie island for old mob ties). And in this case, I would agree with Jill if the story was conceived and published after Dann stepped down. But in this case, it seemed mostly inspired by the fact that Dann was not only refusing to leave, but playing hardball with his accusers. Given that, it’s almost impossible to feel any sympathy for Dann.
Hey! I still think there’s something up with Rattlesnake Island. If you don’t believe me, John, I double dog dare you to take a raft out there. I think I saw Hoffa out there, sunbathing.
About this Dann thing: We all had our reservations. But I wanted to let this woman tell her story–because I think it speaks to a pattern–and because Jessica Utovich remains in hiding, and so we’ve never gotten the “how” behind his machinations. In the end it was this sort of behavior that led to a hostile work environment. And it’s hard to feel bad for a man who has now had two opportunities to appologize to Cindy Stankoski, but didn’t.
And I like your stuff too, Jill.
To Frank:
1. “you’ll have to excuse my lack of empathy, the “mess” is entirely his own making, and he’s hardly the only one who will pay some kind of price.”
Absolutely agree with you. Didn’t mean to suggest otherwise.
2. “I can’t quite get my head around the difference between linking to scandal (daily, for weeks on end) and reporting on another element of it”
That’s a fair critique. Something that goes on pretty often in blogs - it’s a good question.
I’m not sure what the difference is - I do know that in my mind, if I link to something, it’s often more about one or two things: either I don’t have enough time to write more, I don’t really feel it deserves more time, or it doesn’t require more time.
Or - I’m offering the link for people to go check out. I’m not promoting one way or the other.
Does that still make linking any different than reporting on an element of the thing to which you’ve linked?
Well - you got me - it’s a fine line, not everyone’s line. I’d say a lot of it goes to intent, but from the perspective of impact, maybe you are right. Will think about that.
Thanks for commenting.
I get the difference between reporting and linking. I was referring more to standing neck-deep in the scandal from day one, then calling us “sensationalistic” when we step into the same swamp. seems like trying to have it both ways, if not outright disingenuousness.