There have been two common call and response chants among the Ohio delegation in Charlotte. The first one of course is OH IO. And the second one, used by delegates from all the states, is “Fired Up – Ready To Go.” And that’s what Ohio Democrats were feeling after four or five very long days wrapped up with the final acceptance speech by their flag bearer Barack Obama. The President had one reference to the Buckeye state last night and got the Ohio section on their feet.

Like Governor Kasich in Tampa, Strickland also said things are getting better in the Buckeye state. But he offered different reasons than his Republican successor.

In Charlotte, everyone knows Ohio could be a make-or-break state for the presidential election. So delegates cheered ecstatically when Ted Strickland told them Mr. Obama’s investment in GM and Chrysler brought back thousands of Ohio manufacturing jobs.

Just last month, GM announced a plan to invest 200 million dollars in Lordstown, keeping 5,000 jobs in Ohio and building the next generation of the Chevy Cruze — a car we are proud to say is made entirely in Ohio.

Strickland has also been campaigning for the president this summer by going on the attack against Mitt Romney.

“Mitt Romney has so little economic patriotism that even his money needs a passport. It summers on the beaches of the Cayman Islands and winters on the slopes of the Swiss Alps,” Strickland said to rounds of applause.

The former Ohio governor is an Obama campaign co-chairman in Ohio. But so many Ohio delegates are wearing TED buttons that the 71-year-old may well be setting up his own next political race.

As Strickland and other Ohio Democrats were gathering in Charlotte, Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan was campaigning in northeast Ohio. He told supporters at a breakfast in Westlake that “President Obama makes the Jimmy Carter years seem like good old days.”

Once you win Ohio and win Columbus, it’s done.

That’s Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman, one of Ohio’s super delegates, positions usually saved for former Presidents, Senators, and other party higher-ups. He’s not scheduled to speak at the convention, but his advice for the President is simple.

“He needs to get out the base vote, move some persuadable voters, and win Ohio.”

That’s of course easier said than done in a swing state like Ohio. The latest Quinnipiac University poll gives Mr. Obama a 50 percent to 44 percent lead in Ohio. That leads shrinks slightly among men and expands among female voters.

For the non-political insiders, conventions are often seen as unimportant, just pomp and circumstance for the parties. One of Ohio’s DNC delegates at least partially agrees.

They certainly don’t play the role they use to.

That’s Ed Fitzgerald, the Cuyahoga County Executive who gave the Democratic response to Governor John Kasich’s address at the RNC last week. He says conventions may not be as politically important as they once were, but they still serve a role. In Charlotte he wants to tout the county’s new economic development plan, and do plenty of networking.

“It’s an opportunity to connect with people across the state and across the country and kind of compare notes about what’s working, what’s not working in the campaigns, and kind of get some common strategy down about when we come back to Ohio.”

One topic they’ll almost certainly strategize on is health care, the party-splitting issue the President spearheaded in his first term by pushing Obama Care into office. It’s nearly-universally popular among Democrats, but can be difficult to sell in a not-quite red or blue state like Ohio.

Barbara Boyd is a state rep from Cleveland and among the Ohio delegates in North Carolina. She wants to thank the President for his work on health care.

She has the conversation all planned out.

You promised health care. You delivered. You delivered on coming up with health care for everyone.

If she gets the President’s ear, Boyd says she’ll also urge him not to hide his economic record but to put it front and center, especially the auto industry bailout.

“Chrysler was not supposed to make it, Ford was in trouble, and it was the President who brought them out of that dark cave.”

Ask her about Republicans who disagree on the President’s economic accomplishments, and Boyd says “well that’s just too bad for them.”

Unofficial ceremonies at the Democratic National Convention started Monday with caucusing sessions. Official proceedings start Tuesday. The only Ohioans scheduled to speak on the convention floor are Congressional candidate and former Ohio State University administrator Joyce Beatty, and former Ohio Governor Ted Strickland.