Hillary Stumps In Cincinnati Chili Parlor: How Will Them Beans Play Deep In The Heart Of Texas?

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Sick of NAFTA? Then how about a debate over chili to spice up the presidential election? Chocolate and cinnamon are mixed into the sauce Cincinnatians call chili and serve over a plate of spaghetti noodles covered with grated cheddar. It's a regional dish with its roots in Greece and Macedonia. And it wouldn't be recognized out in the scrubland and buttes of cowboy and chuck wagon country where Terlingua holds the world's biggest chili cook-off.

So, did Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland steer Hillary into the chili wars today? He escorted her into a Cincinnati Skyline chili parlor for a campaign rally. Ohio has its presidential primary on March 4. Also, Texas -- where some critics for years have viewed Cincinnati's concoction as a usurper and fraud.

Just glance around the foodie forums on the Web, and you'll see debate like this:

"Texas and Cincinnati chili are so different they probably shouldn't even be considered the same dish. . . My best friend and her DH moved to Cincinnati about six years ago, and I've been there to visit several times -- when I describe Cincy chili to people back here they're amazed at the idea of chili served over spaghetti. To me, Cincy chili seems more like pasta served with an elaborate meat sauce -- but, however you describe it, I really, really like it."

And things have gotten pretty lively on Roadfood.com, where some contend chili is a complete misnomer for the Cincinnati dish. Even those who enjoy it say its a sauce that bears not the slightest resemblance to real Texas chili. Indeed, purists note that Ohioans often pour Cincy-style chili on cheese coneys. Those are hot dogs presumably named for Coney Island in New York. Oh, the heartburn. It's enough to make a Texan die with their boots on.

Huffpo's Beverly Davis On Ohio Primary: March 4 Is D-Day For Dems

COLUMBUS (TDB) -- The Huffington Post has surveyed the Ohio battleground between Obama and Hillary and says both campaigns now have their elite troops on the ground for a "killer match." New York-based writer Beverly Davis -- who normally covers Europe -- even managed to cite and link to The Daily Bellwether in the piece she filed today. Davis says no other state remaining on the primary schedule will have the impact of Ohio, where the Huffpo headline says Obama has now landed his A-team for D-Day:

"Behind the scenes of the Obama-Clinton race to capture Ohio's 161 delegates, the biggest jackpot of states still in contention, it will be a killer match between each campaign's point man: Paul Tewes and Robby Mook.

"Among campaign professionals, Tewes is widely regarded among the very most talented political organizers in the nation -- he's largely responsible for Obama's surprise win in Iowa, which proved that the 'inevitable' nomination of Hillary Clinton wasn't so inevitable and that white voters, independents, and women could be lured to Obama. Mook also comes with an impressive campaign record. He was Howard Dean's field director in the New Hampshire primary and a former deputy field director for the Democratic National Committee. As the state director for Nevada, he led Hillary Clinton's impressive win there last month, successfully wooing Latinos and women back to the Clinton fold."

This bit of 2008 campaign minutiae wasn't reported by Huffpo: Tewes and Mook went head to head in Nevada.

Chelsea Clinton In Cincinnati: Low Key In Packed Downtown Bar

CINCINNATI (TBD) -- Chelsea Clinton campaigned for her mom across Ohio today, visiting Ohio State University and Ohio Wesleyan before finishing the night at a packed meet-and-greet in a dowtown Cincinnati pub. She didn't make a speech in the bar, but worked the crowd and took questions from all comers. She invited people in Sully's Bar and Grill to step up, shake hands, and share a brief political chat. It was low key and personal. She's scheduled to do more campus stops in NE Ohio Thursday. The crowd in the pub was mostly young professsionals.

Chelsea said she wanted to speak with those who hadn't made up their minds whether to vote for Hillary or Obama. She had a sales pitch to make. She said she wants Ohioans on the fence "to please come up and talk to me."

One of her selling points was universal healthcare for all Americans. She said her mom put the issue on the national agenda in the 1990s:

"I'm proud of my mom. I'm proud that she stood up for it. I'm proud that Democrats can now take it for granted" -- meaning that the party has united around the idea despite differences in how to write national legislation that would extend coverage to all Americans.

Hamilton County Commissioner David Pepper, who has endorsed Hillary and is a chief organizer in her campaign's SW Ohio operation, said he's energized by the prospect of a tough March 4 contest against Obama in Ohio.

"Our job is to win Ohio. We've been waiting a long time to have this opportunity. I think he's got a lot of support, he's got great support. But we're going to win. I've been in enough elections, and I don't want to ever answer that it won't be tough. This will be tough."

Hillary's Ohio Leadership Council: 100 Endorsements From Prominent Dems

COLUMBUS (TDB) -- Here's the complete list of Hillary's Ohio Leadership Council, mostly current and former elected officials from around the state. The list of names is broken down by region. One surprise is that Toledo Mayor Carty Finkbeiner still shows up on the list.

Akron/Canton
Donald Plusquellic - Mayor of Akron
Jamey Healy - Mayor of Canton
Steve Dyer - State Representative - District 43
Wayne Jones - Former State Representative
Ilene Shapiro- Summit County Council
John Schmidt - Summit County Council
Frank Communale - Summit County Council
Kelli Crawford - Akron City Councilwoman
Kathy Catazaro Perry - Massilon City Councilwoman
Cincinnati
David Pepper - Hamilton County Commissioner
John Cranley - Cincinnati City Councilman
Roxanne Qualls - Former Mayor of Cincinnati
Catherine Barrett - Former State Representative
Cleveland Area
Stephanie Tubbs-Jones - U.S. Representative (OH-11)
Lance Mason - State Senator - District 25, Minority Whip
Dale Miller - State Senator - District 23
Eugene Miller - State Representative - District 10
Barbara Boyd - State Representative - District 09
Michael DeBose - State Representative - District 12
Tim DeGeeter - State Representative - District 15
Ken Patton - Mayor of Brooklyn
Eric Brewer - Mayor of East Cleveland
Tom Lango - Mayor of Garfield Heights
JoAnn Toczek - Mayor of Linndale
Jeffrey Lansky - Mayor of Maple Heights
Gary Starr - Mayor of Middleburg Heights
Georgine Welco - Mayor of South Euclid
Marcia Fudge - Mayor of Warrensville Heights
Craig Patton - Brooklyn Councilman
Danny Colonna - Brook Park Councilman
Martin Sweeney - Cleveland City Council President
Joe Santiago - Cleveland City Councilman
Dona Brady - Cleveland City Councilwoman
Roosevelt Coats - Cleveland City Councilman
Robert White - Cleveland City Councilman
Gary Norton - East Cleveland City Councilman
Charlene Mancuso - Euclid City Councilwoman
Frank Wagner - Garfield Heights Council President
Nicki Antonio - Lakewood City Councilwoman
George Papcum - Linndale Councilman
Donna Finney - Mayfield City Councilwoman
Howard Sonenstein - Mayfield City Councilman
Nicole Dailey Jones - North Olmsted Councilwoman
Iris Chears - North Randall Village Councilwoman
Sean Brennan - Parma City Councilman
Nicolas Celebrezze - Parma City Councilman
Kelly Czack - Parma Heights Councilwoman
Earl Williams - Shaker Heights City Councilman
Edward Icove - South Euclid City Councilman
Frankie Goldberg - University Heights City Councilwoman
Elona White - Warrensville Heights City Councilwoman
Cyndee Bratz - Parma School Board
Jan Roller - Democratic Party Activist
Columbus /Central Ohio
John Glenn - Former Ohio Senator, Astronaut
Ted Strickland - Governor
Lee Fisher - Lieutenant Governor
Ray Miller - Senate Minority Leader - District 15
Paula Brooks - Franklin County Commissioner
Charletta Tavares - Columbus City Councilwoman
Otto Beatty - Former House Democratic Leader
Gary Utt - Richland County Commissioner
Dayton
Tony Hall - U.N. Ambassador; Former U.S. Representative
Judy Dodge - Montgomery County Commissioner
Dennis Lieberman - Former Montgomery Democratic Party Chair
Southern/Southeastern Ohio
Todd Book - House Assistant Minority Leader - District 89
Jennifer Garrison - State Representative - District 93
Joe Sulzer - Mayor of Chillicothe
Ann Trout - Athens County Clerk of Courts
Lenny Eliason - Athens County Commissioner
Amy Flowers - Athens County At-Large Council Member
Javon Kittle-Cooper - Athens County Treasurer
Dave Warren - Athens County Prosecutor
Mick Davenport - Meigs County Commissioner
Teddy Wheeler - Pike County Auditor
Steve Neal - Ross County Auditor
Kathy Dunn - Ross County Recorder
Jerry Byers - Ross County Treasurer
Mike Crabtree - Scioto County Commissioner
David Green - Scioto County Auditor
Toledo
Carty Finkbeiner - Mayor of Toledo
Edna Brown - State Representative - District 48
Matt Szollosi - State Representative - District 49
Anita Lopez - Lucas County Auditor
Jim Ruvolo - Former State Democratic Party Chair
Youngstown/Mahoning Valley
Ralph Infante - Mayor of Niles
Domenick Mucci - Mayor of Steubenville
Linda Bolon - State Representative - District 1
Ron Gerberry - State Representative - District 59
Harry Meshel - Former State Senator & Democratic Party Chair
Penny Traina - Columbiana County Commissioner
Tom Graham - Jefferson County Commissioner
Patrick Marshall - Jefferson County Auditor
Raymond Agresta - Jefferson County Treasurer
Nora Lynn Palerno - Mahoning County Recorder
Richard "Dick" Marsico - Mahoning County Engineer
Adrian Biviamo - Trumbull County Auditor
Dave Watkins - Trumbull County Prosecutor
Carol Rimedio-Rightetti - Youngstown City Councilwoman
David Ditzler - Austintown Township Trustee
Robbyn Gallito - Boardman Township Trustee
Shelly Murray - President, Youngstown Board of Education
Zanesville
Butch Zwelling - Mayor of Zanesville
John Bates - Muskingum County Commissioner

Obama Supporter Subodh Chandra To Ohio Dem Party: Identify Our Supporters Immediately

[UPDATE: 2:30 PM -- A source in the Obama campaign says the list of supporters has now been released. Reportedly, it contains about 970 names. There is still some consternation that state party officials spent nearly a month preparing the document.]

CLEVELAND (TDB) -- Cleveland lawyer Subodh Chandra, an Obama activist who was the top vote-getter in the 11th District delegate selection caucus last month, says there has been "unacceptable delay" in obtaining the names of the Illinois senator's supporters statewide. Chandra spoke to The Daily Bellwether about Ohio Democratic Party documents identifying Jan. 3 caucus goers who signed pledge forms declaring themselves Obama backers. He fears a stall.

Chandra expressed publicly today a sense of growing frustration with the state party. Obama organizers want the names so they can identify core supporters across Ohio ahead of the March 4 presidential primary. Those supporters would be called upon to form the nucleus of Obama's statewide operation. But there are concerns the ODP establishment is backing Hillary Clinton has played political hardball by holding onto the names. Chandra said he could not understand why the Obama camp hasn't received its lists:

"They could FAX them to me today. They should just FAX 'em. They could scan it into a pdf and e-mail it. They could FedEx 'em. We need to have those names. This is just just absurd. The notion that they are typing up the list is not an acceptable excuse. Make a decent photocopy and send it to us."

Chandra said he wants the actual copies of pledge forms the Obama backers filled out on cacus night. He said ODP officials are reportedly preparing spread sheet lists of the names and e-mail addresses. He said those databases could be inaccurate, or contain errors and typos. He said copies of the actual pledge forms would be more precise.

"These are people who came to support Obama at a caucus before Iowa happened, before South Carolina happened. We don't need anybody's compilations. We want the actual sheets."