Toledo Blade Endorses Sherrod Brown for U.S. Senate

Strip away misleading rhetoric about body armor for the troops, and Ohio's race for the U.S. Senate boils down to this: The incumbent, Republican Mike DeWine, has been a loyal vote in Washington for President Bush and a host of failed and misguided foreign and domestic policies for the past six years.

Getting the country back on the right track won't be easy, but change has to start in the halls of Congress, which is why we endorse Democrat Sherrod Brown to replace Mr. DeWine in the Senate.

Mr. Brown, a seven-term House member, has the experience, intelligence, and tenacity necessary to get things done in Washington, and his positions on the major issues - tax cuts, the war in Iraq, and trade - are in most cases diametrically opposed to those of the incumbent.

Moreover, he has not succumbed to the insiderism that grips veteran officials who, like Mr. DeWine, forget they're supposed to be working for the people rather than advancing special interests.

In addition, Mr. Brown is anything but a stranger to the broader public, having served as Ohio secretary of state from 1983 to 1991 and before that eight years in the General Assembly. A Mansfield native and a graduate of Yale University, he now lives in Avon and represents the 13th congressional district, which extends from the Lorain area southeast below Cleveland into Summit County.