GOP Hopes Local Turmoil Won't Hurt Bush

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This is a must read for all Buckeyes. This is just the beginning of the article. It's worth the trouble to sign up at the WP to read it all.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A24824-2004Aug22.html

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Young, tough and brazenly ambitious, Brett Buerck and Kyle Sisk made quite a name for themselves behind the scenes at the state capitol. They made money, lots of it, and then -- to their regret -- they became famous.
So what do a couple of formerly fast-lane Republican operatives such as Buerck and Sisk have to do with this year's presidential election?
President Bush can only hope the answer is not much.
Some Ohio Republicans worry that Buerck's and Sisk's influence on the 2004 election may be more consequential. Ordinarily, this state's GOP, which has held a virtual lock on power since 1990, would be a clear asset for the president. He could take advantage of the party's grass-roots organization, official surrogates and goodwill with the electorate. But a host of local controversies have scuffed the Republican brand name in Ohio. The most malodorous of these involves allegations of improper fundraising and self-dealing by the two consultants to Republican state House Speaker Larry Householder.