Who ya gonna call?

Ted Strickland.

Ohio's Democratic governor is a ghostbuster for his party. He comes with a warning label: Do not underestimate his political skill.

Certainly, Dann's disgraceful fall as attorney general gives the GOP some autumn campaign fodder, but Strickland's actions inoculated Democrats from the kind of deadly fallout Republicans suffered in 2006 after the "Coingate" scandal.

Riskily playing the impeachment card and signing a law authorizing the Ohio inspector general to root through the muck in the attorney general's office, Strickland forced Dann to resign quickly. Democrats, he crowed, "clean our own house."

With Ohioans' confidence in the attorney general's office shattered, Strickland smartly resisted the temptation to appoint Democratic state Treasurer Richard Cordray as Dann's interim replacement and give him a leg up for election to the post in November. Cordray, a lawyer, would have had to resign as treasurer to take the job.

Instead, Strickland found an unassailable temporary replacement with impeccable credentials -- Nancy Hardin Rogers, dean of the law school at Ohio State University.

Cordray has not declared publicly whether he intends to run in the Nov. 4 election to fulfill the two years remaining in Dann's term. But he is the obvious choice for Democrats. If Cordray wins, then Strickland can appoint a new treasurer. If he loses, he'll remain treasurer.

Both parties' central committees soon will nominate attorney general candidates to run in November. In a short race, those with name recognition and fundraising ability will be favored. But character matters more.

"The Dann situation clearly shows that you have to have an attorney general candidate with integrity and clear and consistent moral values," said Jim Tilling, chief of staff for former Republican Attorney General Betty D. Montgomery.

If Cordray decides not to run, Strickland and the Democrats might look for a candidate from the ranks of prosecutors in Cuyahoga, Lucas and Montgomery counties. But all of them would have to give up safe seats to run for attorney general.

The same problem exists for Republican Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O'Brien, who has a big war chest and an Irish name that would fetch votes in giant Cuyahoga County. Another impediment to an O'Brien candidacy: In an increasingly Democratic county, Ohio Republicans don't want to risk losing the most powerful prosecutor's office in the state.

Former U.S. Rep. Rob Portman, a Cincinnati Republican, has taken himself out of consideration. That leaves retiring U.S. Rep. Deborah Pryce of Upper Arlington and former Sen. Mike DeWine as the two Republicans with the ability to mount serious campaigns in short order. Pryce hasn't said no but is exploring other options.

DeWine is interested but also must weigh the possibility of a cabinet job if his close friend Sen. John McCain wins the presidency. In a race for attorney general, DeWine also would have to deal with opposition from his party's right-wingers.

"When I'd see him on the news or on television, he'd be standing next to Ted Kennedy, which would make me want to throw up," said Butler County Sheriff Richard K. Jones, who urged the Ohio GOP in a letter not to nominate DeWine.

In the Senate, DeWine was solidly conservative but not ideologically pure enough for those in his party who would rather fight than accomplish things. They continue to castigate DeWine for joining the bipartisan "Gang of 14," whose actions actually paved the way for two darlings of conservatives -- Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justice Samuel A. Alito -- to join the Supreme Court.

As a county prosecutor, state senator, congressman and U.S. senator, DeWine was effective and popular with colleagues because he worked across the partisan divide. Cordray has the same quality.

If the next attorney general is a choice between Cordray and DeWine, Ohioans win either way.

Joe Hallett is senior editor at The Dispatch.

jhallett@dispatch.com