'Job Loss State'

Who is bringing up the concept that political rhetoric can hurt Ohio's economy? Who instigated the idea that prompted Carl Weiser's column? Chamber's of Commerce maybe? Groups who support Bush? The nation Chamber of Commerce is in the pocket of the GOP, so I would no be surprised that politics prompted their PR campaign.

Shawn Mummert of CT sees any buzz as insignificant:

'In the short term, I'm sure that the Chamber of Commerce has a point. Fundamentally, it creates some negative buzz,' said Shawn Mummert, a software developer and board president of Cincinnati Tomorrow, an organization that works to attract young professionals.

But in the long term, he said, the focus on Ohio's economic problems will only help. He hopes the problems will get special attention from whichever candidate wins in November.

Besides, he said, Cincinnati suffers more from its image as an intolerant, culturally deprived backwater than from anything the presidential candidates are saying.

Nick Spencer chimes in with a similar point:

And reality is reality, said Nick Spencer, founder of Cincinnati Tomorrow. Ohio and Cincinnati are losing jobs and people, respectively. Rhetoric from the presidential candidates is not the problem.

"They're not diverse, open environments to do business in," he said of Cincinnati and the Buckeye State. "Ohio is still lagging behind the innovation economy."