I'm a sucker for a lot of things: Personal journalism. Progressive politics. Behind-the-scenes reporting. Media criticism. Strong, intelligent women. In Connie Schultz's new book, "... and His Lovely Wife: A Memoir from the Woman Beside the Man", we're treated to all of these things, and more. In case you didn't know, Schultz is the Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for the Cleveland Plain Dealer. The "Man", in this case, is Congressman-turned-Senator Sherrod Brown. And the book is Schultz's very personal chronicle of Brown's race for U.S. Senate, a year-plus spent in the maelstrom of a campaign, and the efforts Schultz and Brown undertook to make their young, enthusiastic marriage work. He won, they survived, and their love - portrayed beautifully in the book - endures. The importance of this book will, too, making it a no-doubt-about-it addition to your must-read list.

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The AP is reporting that Ohio TV stations are pulling an RNC attack ad because it is "inaccurate."

WKRC-TV in Cincinnati said it dropped the ad, which aired Wednesday, after being advised by its lawyers that the ad was inaccurate. The Brown campaign said its lawyers were assured that television stations WSTR in Cincinnati and WSYX and WTTE in Columbus, owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, pulled the ad on Thursday. Barry Faber, Sinclair vice president and general counsel, declined to comment.

The Republican National Committee's $726,597 ad was meant to help DeWine in the final weeks of his race against Brown, a northeast Ohio congressman who had been expanding his lead in recent polls.

But the Brown campaign produced an Ohio Bureau of Employment Services document showing that a lien placed on the tax bill on Dec. 20, 1993, was released four months later when the bill was paid in full.

The Sherrod Brown campaign released this response ad to these baseless allegations earlier this afternoon:

You might remember the big Brouhaha a couple of days ago over whether the GOP was pulling out of Ohio and leaving Mike DeWine to fend for himself against Sherrod Brown. Well Ken Melhman, in a hastily arranged press conference, vigorously denied that and said they were still spending millions on the race (well, at least 1 million). Their proof was given to the ultra-insider hotline blog the next day. Let's see what happened.

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CBS NEWS/NEW YORK TIMES POLL

CAMPAIGN 2006: OHIO
October 11-15, 2006
OHIO'S SENATE RACE
In the heated race for U.S. Senate in Ohio, Democratic challenger Sherrod Brown leads incumbent Republican Mike DeWine by 14 points among likely voters. 49% of likely voters say they will vote for Brown next month, while 35% say they will cast their vote for DeWine. Results are similar among registered voters: 48% would vote for Brown, and 34% would vote for DeWine.Maybe we should talk about whether the drag from Blackwell/DeWine is large enough for the Dems to sweep the statewide offices?  The Democratic Party in Ohio needs to focus more resources upon the Secretary of State and State Auditor elections.

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You've probably seen the news from the Quinnipiac Poll today: Sherrod Brown up 53% to 41% over Mike DeWine. This comes on the heels of a Survey USA poll showing Brown up 54% to 40%. How did Brown do it? The CW is that the atmosphere is so toxic to republicans in Ohio, that DeWine is getting swept out with the tide. Certainly that covers part of the story, but let's parse the Quinnipiac poll to see a more subtle, yet fundamental reason why Brown looks poised to win, and win big in 2006.

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