Toss the underdog a bone, Gov

As the race for Ohio governor enters the final stage leading to the Nov. 4 finish line, Republican John Kasich is all but assured of victory and a second four-year term over his Democratic challenger Ed FitzGerald, the Cuyahoga County executive.

Hence, Kasich’s refusal to debate FitzGerald has become a point of contention for the Democrat, his supporters and the press. Debates are a fact of political life, as Kasich well knows. The former member of Congress, Fox television talk show host and Wall Street investment company executive has participated in several face-to-face encounters.

In 2010, then-Gov. Ted Strickland, a Democrat, gave Kasich the recognition he deserved as the Republican nominee by agreeing to two debates. The first one took place with Strickland, seeking a second four-year term, seemingly in control of the race. But then came the second, held against the backdrop of a tightening contest. Kasich, aware of his changing political fortunes, used the televised event to not only articulate his vision for Ohio, but to define the incumbent. He succeeded in placing the blame for Ohio’s economic troubles on Strickland, even though most of the states were suffering the effects of the national recession that began in late 2008 as then-Republican President George W. Bush was leaving office.

Razor-thin win

Kasich surprised even members of his own party when he defeated Strickland, and although the margin was razor thin, long-time political observers believe that his performance in the debates helped him enormously in connecting with the electorate.

And that may well be the reason Gov. Kasich is refusing to debate his Democratic challenger, FitzGerald, the former mayor of Lakewood and an ex- FBI agent. Why give the challenger an opportunity to spotlight their differences and to strut his stuff?

Here’s a reason: Voters have come to expect candidates for high office to participate in debates and other political forums. They want to be able to judge for themselves how well the contenders perform in an unscripted setting.

In addition, they expect the incumbent (in this case the governor) to be magnanimous in dealing with his challenger — especially one who is a clear underdog.

That’s why Kasich’s refusal to debate FitzGerald is so surprising. We’ve heard the explanation: Representatives of the two campaigns were in debate negotiation when FitzGerald lost several of his top political operatives after news reports revealed that he had not had a permanent driver’s license for about a decade.

The governor, commenting on the collapse of debate negotiations, said there was an “implosion” on the other side.

He has moved on — and recently told the Editorial Board of The Vindicator that he would be willing to appear before a panel of journalists in a forum that could be aired live on television.

There’s a two-week window of opportunity that gives the campaigns enough time to arrange a head-to-head encounter.

Why should Kasich accommodate a candidate whose campaign appears to have derailed? Because if Kasich has any designs on the presidency — he dodges questions about his political aspirations — he must show that he has the intestinal fortitude for a hard-hitting campaign.

Campaign issue

For his part, FitzGerald has been trying to turn Kasich’s shunning of him into a campaign issue.

“Kasich is the first Ohio governor in at least 30 years to refuse to agree to debates,” he has said — repeatedly. “No other governor in recent memory has been arrogant enough to say to hard working Ohioans, ‘I don’t have to explain my decisions to you.’”

If it sounds like a cry of political desperation, it is.

What does Kasich have to lose by debating a challenger who may well be following in the political footsteps of another Democratic candidate for governor, Rob Burch, who was beaten so badly by Republican George V. Voinovich that Democrats would rather forget about that race?

The Voinovich-Burch election has become the standard by which other Republican candidates for governor judge their across-the-board political strength.

Republican Gov. Bob Taft wasn’t able to follow in Voinovich’s footsteps, but Kasich is certainly going for broke.