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He said Ohio now has the fewest number of government workers per capita in thenation because of government cuts and efficiencies he's supported and the most smallbusiness-friendly tax structure in the Midwest.
"Congressman, I've done what you and your party only talk about doing," Strickland said.
Kasich said Strickland's decision to suspend the final year of a planned income tax cut tobalance the state budget qualifies as a tax increase.
He said Lehman Brothers hired him because of his creativity and ingenuity, offering him asix-figure salary despite his lack of investment banking experience.
"I think when they looked and saw that I was the chief architect of the balanced budget andthat I did a lot of things in Congress, they thought I had the potential," he said.
Strickland accused Kasich of trading on his experience in Congress to get the job. He saidKasich spoke publicly as a lawmaker about his support for privatizing Social Security, a move thatWall Street interests favored.
Despite their rivalry, the two men exchanged a mid-debate handshake and insisted theypersonally like each other - then went back to their attacks.
Strickland said he and Kasich disagreed while in Congress over the North American Free TradeAgreement and other policies that led to American jobs - many of them in Ohio - being outsourced toother countries.
Strickland said he opposed those policies: "I'm not an outsourcer."
Kasich said 380,000 jobs have been lost in Ohio since Strickland took the helm and most ofthem haven't gone overseas but to other states.
Former President Bill Clinton stumped for Strickland in Cincinnati and Columbus on Tuesdayand said that Ohioans are right to feel angry about the weak U.S. economy but shouldn't let thatcloud their judgment when voting in November.
He put the blame for the economy on Republican policies before Strickland tookoffice in 2007 and said Strickland has laid the foundation for a recovery in Ohio with strongeconomic development programs and deserves to be re-elected to a second term.
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September 14, 2010: Strickland, Kasich To Square Off In First Debate
