Wives of Strickland, Dann play pivotal campaign roles

Spouses often play key roles in the campaigns of candidates.
It's certainly nothing new. It's been a part of campaigning for many, many years.
I experienced it on a national scale during the 2004 presidential election. For those who were there, you couldn't -- although you probably wish you could -- forget the two coma-inducing appearances of Teresa Heinz Kerry in Mahoning County.
So it's natural that the spouses of the two Mahoning Valley candidates running for state office in November are involved in the campaigns of their husbands.
Frances Strickland, wife of U.S. Rep. Ted Strickland of Lisbon, is one of the Democratic gubernatorial nominee's closest advisers. She is also actively campaigning for her husband with a particular focus on southern Ohio, where the couple lived for most of their lives.
Alyssa Lenhoff, wife of state Sen. Marc Dann of Liberty, is helping her husband's attorney general campaign, primarily behind the scenes.
E-mail campaigns
Strickland's wife and Lenhoff have sent e-mails to those who signed up on their husbands' Web sites to receive campaign information. They combine the tradition of the involvement of spouses in campaigns with the newer trend of candidates sending many e-mails to their supporters.
When you sign up for e-mails from campaigns and political parties, you never know who's going to send you one. I've received e-mails supposedly sent by President Bush, President Clinton, and numerous political heavy-hitters from both major political parties.
Almost every e-mail asks for campaign contributions.
Some requests are direct, essentially telling people that the world will come to an end if you don't send $100 to a certain campaign right away.
Others are more subtle.
In the subtle category is an e-mail sent by Strickland's wife, titled "Help Make Ohio Great Again." It focuses on her husband's life, his political career, and his Turnaround Ohio plan "that keeps and grows the jobs we have, that invests in Ohio's strengths, and brings jobs to Ohio by making sure we have the best educated workforce possible." Noble ideals, indeed.
In the e-mail, she writes that "we have a chance to make a true change in our state this Nov. 7, but it's going to take the effort and determination of all who care to put Ohio back on the right track."
A link at the end of the e-mail allows people to sign up to volunteer for Strickland's campaign.
The e-mail's subtle tone is that Strickland is great, and if you want to improve Ohio, you need to support him by volunteering, voting for him, and sending him money.
For those who miss the subtlety of the e-mail, the P.S. reads: "You can also contribute here," that links you to a Web page where you can contribute money to the Strickland gubernatorial campaign.
Lenhoff's 'special favor'
Lenhoff's e-mail, titled "Marc Dann's wife has a special favor," never asks for money. There is a link to Dann's Web site at the very bottom of the e-mail. A person can contribute to his campaign that way, but the e-mail doesn't encourage people to do so. In the fifth paragraph, she writes that the campaign will ask for contributions in other e-mails.
So what is her "special favor?" It's something that many people would consider to be worse than asking for money.
"I would like to ask you to share with me any names and e-mail addresses of people you believe would like to be informed about the campaign for Ohio's next attorney general."
Lenhoff promises to use the lists "appropriately and not share them with others." She also writes that "if you are uncomfortable sharing your lists with me," you can forward her e-mail to "people in your universe."
Uncomfortable? That's an understatement.