The Enquirer's Schmidt endorsement

The Enquirer's endorsement of Jean Schmidt, its sixth since 2005, is coming out this weekend. Rather than make COAST blog readers wait, we thought we would give you a preview:

* After seven years in the Ohio House, Schmidt is an accomplished member gaining seniority and experience. (Please ignore the fact that she has sponsored not a single piece of major legislation, chairs no important committee or subcommittee, fails to grasp a single important issue before Congress beyond her FoxNews talking points, and has not had a single creative idea since elected).

* Schmidt is born and bred Cincinnati (Clermont County) and reflects the view of her constituents well. (Please ignore the fact that she is a lockstep vote for House Leadership regardless of the view of those in her district.)

* Schmidt has served with honor (just please ignore that $500,000 illegal gift, the fact that the OEC found her to have lied about a college degree, the two instances of plagiarism, the Murtha flap, the lies to the House Ethics Committee, and being named "most corrupt" by CREW; please ignore that she is one of only eight House Members who need legal expense funds to defend them against ethical and legal challenges).

* You know, that Dr. Brad Wenstrup has no experience in elective office, and we need a steady rudder on the ship of state (ignore the fact that Schmidt's experience has been marred by scandal after scandal, and distraction after distraction, thus making her a back-bencher of epic proportions, one of the biggest jokes in D.C.).

So, we hope you will ignore Schmidt's critics, and elect her to Congress again, where she can continue her legacy of, ummmm, fine service.

Love, Maggie Buchanan and Ray Cooklis.