By Debra Jasper
Columbus Enquirer Bureau

COLUMBUS - The two candidates for governor heatedly attacked each other in their second debate Wednesday night, with Republican Gov. Bob Taft accusing his opponent of being down on Ohio.

"He'll try to blame me for everything from bad weather to the Reds and Indians not making it to the World Series," the governor said.

Mr. Hagan quickly fired back. "You say I'm down on Ohio. You've got it all wrong, pal," he said. "I'm down on you."

Mr. Hagan - who often turned away from the camera to look at Mr. Taft or a panelist when he spoke - kept his tone dismissive throughout the debate. He repeatedly called the governor "pal" and told him he ought to look more closely at the Hagan plan "before you mouth off" about it.

Afterward, Mr. Hagan said he adopted that attitude to show voters that he is a real person and Mr. Taft is stiff and scripted. With two weeks to go before election day, Mr. Hagan has much riding on that strategy.

Polls show the Democratic candidate is anywhere from seven to 16 points behind Mr. Taft. Mr. Hagan, who has raised less than $1 million and says he doesn't have the money to run television ads, is relying on debate coverage to get his message to voters.

Mr. Taft has raised $9 million and has been running ads on TV for eight weeks. On Wednesday, the Taft campaign ran its first negative television ad, hitting Mr. Hagan for being an "unabashed liberal," for "being known as Tax Hike Tim," and for opposing the death penalty.

After the debate, the governor said he is running the ads because voters don't know anything about Mr. Hagan, who lags Mr. Taft in name recognition throughout the state.

"It's important for Ohioans to have that information. There's not a lot of information out there on my opponent," he said.

Mr. Hagan said the governor is attacking him, both in television ads and in debates, because he knows the race is narrowing.

"You don't go negative unless you think you're in trouble," Mr. Hagan said." I take it as a welcome sign."

Both candidates answered questions from each other as well as from 10 panelists, including students and educators from state universities, in the debate from Ohio State University. The debate was televised on public television, C-SPAN and the cable Ohio News Network.

In his opening speech, Mr. Hagan stumbled several times as he struggled to explain his view that politics confuses people. After a couple of false starts, he finally expressed his belief that money is distorting the political process.

The Democratic candidate said the governor is a pawn of the big drug companies, banks and utilities.

"If you wonder why we don't have a prescription drug bill, it's because the drug companies have contributed money (to the Taft campaign)," Mr. Hagan said. "It's time for people to stand up to these special interests."

Mr. Taft, who rarely looked at his opponent and instead talked directly to television viewers, stayed focused on his message. He continually recited a list of his accomplishments, including the Third Frontier, a $1.6 billion plan to bring more high-tech businesses to Ohio in the next 10 years.

"Our Third Frontier project (will) create new jobs, new start-up companies," Mr. Taft said. He said it would nurture small businesses and get them off the ground.

Mr. Hagan told the governor that the Third Frontier is "a figment of your imagination."

He said Mr. Taft came up with the idea a few months ago as a way to cover up that he hasn't done anything to bring in new jobs in the past four years.

"What we've had here is a lot of talk and a lot of gibberish," he said. "You ... have been a lot of talk and no action."

On the issue of higher education, Mr. Taft promised to increase spending at universities and to enact caps on tuition increases next year. Then he dropped a bomb.

"What I will not do is what my opponent proposes, cut higher education by 15 percent," Mr. Taft said.

It was the first time the governor accused Mr. Hagan of planning such steep cuts. During the debate, Mr. Hagan didn't refute the governor's assertion but afterward said his plan does not call for any cuts to higher education. He said higher education has always been exempt from his plan to cut spending.

Mr. Hagan during the debate also dismissed the governor's assertion that he is anti-business. "What I'm anti is corporations that don't pay their fair share. I'm opposed to you kow-towing to corporate interests," he said.

When the candidates were able to question each other, Mr. Hagan asked how the governor could cut funding for libraries, children's services, higher education and hemophiliacs and then spend $700,000 to insert himself into a tourism ad.

The governor said he is proud of his record of marketing Ohio. "I don't have any concerns about the fact that I'm promoting Ohio for tourism and for jobs," he said.

Mr. Taft asked Mr. Hagan why he would cut OhioReads, a program the governor started to encourage people to tutor children.

Mr. Hagan said the state faces a $4 billion deficit next year because of the governor's mismanagement and it can't afford a $30 million volunteer program. He said the program would be fine if the state had a lot of money.

"I'm not opposed to it if I had the $4 billion you blew," he said.

Mr. Hagan ended the debate by saying drug companies, banks, utilities and other special interests back Mr. Taft. "You posture, and you postpone and you respond to the special interests of this state at the expense of working men and women," he said.

He said he is the son of Irish and Italian steel and iron workers and if elected, he will "speak for the people that Bob Taft doesn't speak for."

Mr. Taft ended by saying the state is getting better. He said more people are attending college, more seniors are living at home and the budget is balanced this year. If elected, the governor said he will "continue to transform our schools" and "continue to transform our economy to create the high-paying jobs of the future."

The candidates will debate a third and final time on Nov. 1 at the Cleveland City Club.

Email djasper@enquirer.com