Strickland clearly understands the voice of the people. I mean, thats why he was reelected right......? 
Meh, you have a point, but at the same time, he did about as well as any incumbent Democratic governor was going to do in Ohio last year.
The main reason why Strckland was almost re-elcted was because he was running against Kasich. Ohio was going to elect a Republican to pretty much everything imaginable last year regardless of who it was because Obama's name was (is?) mud. If there was a gubernatorial race in Ohio between Strickland and Kasich any other year besides 2010, Strickland would have won easily. Now, Kasich's name is mud, not that it was much better regarded to begin with.
Strickland himself wasn't particularly popular or unpopular statewide. He is mainly regarded as a do-nothing governor since it's pretty hard to name a single important thing he did in four years. In some places that might be a horrendous insult, but in Ohio that thought is usually followed by "at least he didn't screw anything up either".
Strickland also has an electoral advantage Obama doesn't; he can carry the Southeast part of the state. That is the swingiest part of Ohio and full of West-Virginia style Democrats. Strickland cleaned up that part of the state while Obama got creamed there and will again. Obama won Ohio because he was so dominant nationally, not because he fit the demographics of the state.
What are you doing out of your cage?
