Buckeye Boost For Dubya?

Ohio, the third-biggest prize in the March 7 raft of primaries with 69 delegates at stake, is shaping up as the latest battleground over religion in the Republican race for President.

Campaigning in Cleveland Tuesday, Texas Governor George W. Bush again expressed regret for not speaking out against the policies and background of Bob Jones University when he visited the South Carolina school this month. But he also included a pointed message for his rival, John McCain.

"My regret is that I didn't speak out against anti-Catholic bias when I had the opportunity to do so," Bush told Catholic Charities in Cleveland on Tuesday. "People know my record in Texas. I brought people together and have been an inclusive governor."

Then Bush said McCain is wrong to paint him as anti-Catholic.

"It's the kind of politics that John F. Kennedy rejected in the 1960's. It's the kind of politics that we thought we put behind us in America."

"It's the kind of politics that continues to persist today, because of Senator McCain.

And in an allusion to telephone calls apparently being made by the McCain campaign in Virginia - holding its primary Feb. 29 - Bush also charged his rival with hypocritical tactics.

"He ought to be a man who does what he says he going to do. He says he's going to run a clean campaign, yet he's got calls going into the Commonwealth of Virginia calling me an anti-Catholic bigot. Senator McCain ought to do what he says he's going to do. The Straight Talk Express should not be the Parse Talk Express."

Besides the attack on McCain, Bush talked about education in Cleveland, where the state of Ohio runs an experimental school voucher program. He said the federal government shouldn't mandate school vouchers, but should encourage innovation. The governor added there should be a balanced approach to teaching evolution in school.

Bush then headed on to Columbus and Cincinnati. Like Michigan, Ohio is a Rust Belt bellwether state in presidential elections. McCain beat Bush in Michigan's GOP primary, partly because he drew crossover votes from Democrats and independents. Since Ohio's March 7 primary is open to all voters, Bush wants to avoid a repeat of Michigan.

Ohio political observers say the Buckeye State probably won't be a sequel. They note that Democrats hold their primary on the same day, and that Ohio lacks Michigan's tradition of crossover voting. That means the GOP establishment in Ohio - headed by Governor Bob Taft - could count more for Bush.

New poll numbers are also buoying the Bush campaign. An Ohio Poll released on Tuesday showed McCain has gained ground on Bush in the GOP race, but still remains far behind. The telephone survey had Bush leading McCain 53 percent to 36 percent among likely Republican voters, with the quixotic Alan Keyes at 4 percent.