Petro Campaign Replies, Not Forwards

It is the kind of snafu in a campaign you hope doesn’t happen. A campaign staffer gets a media request. No problem, make a comment or evaluation of the letter and forward it to those who will make a decision. That is all Christ Stock thought he was doing.

Then he hit the reply button instead of the forward button. Now the Petro campaign has to expend some time doing a little damage control.

I understand politically why the apology had to be made. But to be honest, Chris was simply giving what he thought was an honest political evaluation of the situation. Though it is slightly puzzling why he mentions the JMP if that refers to the Joint Manufacturing Plant. The issue about LCI closing as Jim Petro would have represented Taft in any case concerning the prison closing would have weighed heavier in my mind. So I must be mission something.

Of course we had the obligatory apology and the issue will likely blow over in a few days. It does raise a credibility that Stock didn’t fess up to the email being his.

???Chris lied to you. It was an e-mail that he was sending to someone,??? Paduchik said. ???I wanted you to hear that straight from me.???

Stock, reached Wednesday night, apologized for making a mistake, but would not say if he was the person who wrote or sent the e-mail.

???I admit I made a mistake, I regret making that mistake and I apologize to you for that,??? Stock said.

The Lima News quotes Bob Holmes, chair for Jim Petro’s campaign, that Petro will return to Lima. What Stock should have been made to do by the campaign is to admit he lied and then go on. This is a critical issue in Ohio politics is about not being truthful. It doesn’t help when Petro made this comment.

???He???s one of the smartest young men I know. He???s been a prot√?g√? of mine for years. He???s been severely whiplashed, but yes, he has a job

If he is a protege of Petro’s then you want the image of being forthright and honest. He should have had Stock admit the truth, be reprimanded and then go on. Blackwell may well use this very issue to boost his campaign. The campaign for Blackwell is aggressive enough to take advantage of this. But we shall see how it washes out in the next two months.

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