Clinton: Hire me, please

ST. CLAIRSVILLE, Ohio -- Hillary Clinton is urging Ohio voters tonight to think of the election more as a hiring decision than a vote, saying the country cannot afford someone unprepared in the White House if crisis strikes.

"We don't know what will happen," she said to hundreds of supporters gathered in a gym here near the Ohio-West Virginia border. "That's why we have to think about this decision more like a hiring choice than a voting choice. You know, you can vote for somebody or against somebody for whatever reason you want."

The implication is clear: Barack Obama may excite voters, she's suggesting, but should excitement be the reason you hire someone to be president? It's a variation of the Obama-as-risk argument that Clinton and her husband have used on and off during the campaign, to evidently little effect.

"I hope you will decide you want to hire me for the toughest job in the world," she said.

Clinton's appearance here in St. Clairsville is actually rather Obama-like: packed small-town gym with hundreds of rabid supporters; hecklers and questioners falling all over themselves to announce their love for the candidate; a group of women spelling "Hillary" letter by letter on white T-shirts.