THE BURNED OVER DISTRICT

From the ever excellent Toledo Blade we find that Tom Noe is ticked off at Gov. Bobs disavowals of knowledge of the coin funds. And the evidence is on Toms' side.

At a 2004 roast of Tom Noe, Gov. Bob Taft talked about rare coins and giving money to the Toledo-area coin dealer, but he did not make a direct reference to the $50 million rare-coin investment that now, a year later, has enveloped his administration in scandal.

Mr. Noe's penchant for fine wine was so well-known it was an opening joke in Mr. Taft's roast of him, a speech delivered with razzes about golf, Mr. Noe's waistline, his status as a college dropout, and his "100-room mansion in the Florida Keys."

The August, 2004, speech includes oblique references to rare coins and money but not a direct reference to the state's failed investments with Mr. Noe, something the governor insists he did not know about until it was reported in The Blade on April 3, 2005.

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William Wilkinson, lawyer for Mr. Noe, said the governor knew about the coin investment from a May, 2001, conversation he had with Mr. Noe. Mr. Wilkinson allowed that Mr. Taft might have forgotten.

The lawyer said yesterday that the statements in the roast "were consistent with the proposition that he knew."

"I think there is a limit to how much that is going on around you that you can be oblivious to," he said.

Mr. Wilkinson also said that the governor's recent statement that Mr. Noe worked hard to "conceal" the investment's existence was illogical because the coin fund was part of the public record. He said Mr. Noe was "angry" about the statement and wanted a retraction from the governor. Mr. Taft won't comment on the issue.

"He seems to think piling on Tom Noe is good sport," Mr. Wilkinson said.

It is always a mistake to piss off your partners in crime.

And do read this article about the coming together of Ohio liberals and conservatives to remove Gov. Bob from office.