Biggest Democratic Guns to Hit the Buckeye State – Desperate or Smart (or Both)?

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The three biggest names in the Democratic Party are converging on Ohio this weekend -- President Obama, Vice President Biden and former President Clinton -- in a move even the Associated Press labeled as "desperate."

That's because Democratic Governor Ted Strickland is trailing Republican candidate former U.S. Rep. John Kasich in the fight to keep the state's top job, a loss that would be seen as a big Democratic loss.

Strickland won in 2006 by huge margins in a battleground state that is never far from the national microscope or a president's mind. The state has long been considered a bellwether for national voting trends. Ohio also has a perfect track record for picking the winning president for nearly the last 50 years.

So it's no surprise the White House is honing in on Ohio.  Obama was just there two weeks ago for a rally at Ohio State University. It was his first campaign appearance with the first lady since 2008 and part of his strategy to drum up support from young voters and party faithful.

This weekend marks his 12th trip as president, and 8th one this year.

The governor has been able to gain a couple points in the polls in recent weeks, mostly by trying to paint Kasich as a part of the Wall Street collapse for his work at Lehman Brothers. Economically speaking, though, Strickland can still boast his work as a member of budget committee in the 1990s, back during the last balanced budget.

On Sunday the president and vice president will attend a DNC rally in Cleveland. The duo has been mostly splitting up the trail, having last appeared together two weeks ago in Delaware, stumping for Democrat Chris Coons, who was then and is now expected to win the spot to fill Biden's old Senate seat.

Clinton, who's tallied up some 70 campaign stops this year, told supporters in an e-mail Thursday, "This year, Ohio, which is always a critical battleground state, has one of the closest elections for Governor in the country. But it shouldn't be." Biden went on to say that Strickland matches the best of the leaders Clinton has met across the globe. Clinton is holding a rally at a restaurant in Canton on Saturday.

The big three Democratic guns are also targeting Ohio for reasons other than just the governor's race. There are also six House seats up for grabs on Tuesday, not to mention the affect on redistricting.

Lastly, Ohio is happens to be the home turf for the would-be next House Majority Leader, John Boehner, should Republicans take the chamber, which most polls are currently indicating they will.