Former Ohio governor in Romney ad

Associated Press

CINCINNATI

Former Ohio Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland never expected to see himself so much in campaign advertising this year — especially in a commercial for Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney.

The 2012 Barack Obama campaign co-chairman can be seen nodding agreement, standing behind then-candidate Hillary Clinton in 2008 as she criticizes Obama in Cincinnati for mailings she said distorted her record, concluding: “So shame on you, Barack Obama!”

The Romney ad claims Obama uses the same tactics against Romney. The commercial has been running frequently for nearly two weeks in Ohio, among six battleground states where it’s aired.

Strickland said Wednesday the ad takes a moment from “a very heated” point in the 2008 primary campaign, and it’s outdated because of Clinton’s subsequent support for Obama and her service as his secretary of state.

“It think it’s a little retro at this point, the number of years ago,” Strickland told The Associated Press. “People have seen them working together on the same team.”

He added with a laugh that the commercial footage cuts the top of his head off, so he might not be widely recognized.

A Romney campaign spokesman declined to discuss details or plans for use of the ad.