All three - Treasury Secretary John Snow, Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Mike Leavitt - found time to drop by the Enquirer to tell us how well things are going. Their messages on issues such as the economy, clean air and health care will be mantras of the administration's re-election campaign. Greater Cincinnatians can expect to hear the same messages time and again during the next few months.

When it was pointed out to Snow that he would barely miss bumping into Thompson, the secretary of the Treasury noted the obvious: "Well, I guess it's no secret that Ohio is an important state this year."

It never has been a secret. Ohio is important every year. In the last 37 presidential elections the Democrats won 15 and the Republicans 22. The Republicans won Ohio 27 times and the Democrats took the state in 10 elections. On strategy maps of the nation's political plotters, states like Ohio are neither red nor blue this year. They are colored purple, and they are in for the royal treatment.

No Republican has ever won the presidency without winning Ohio. For that reason, people like Thompson, Snow and Leavitt are likely to find plenty of good reasons to stop in during the next few months to tell voters just how much they are doing for us. Political scientists say the standard procedure for winning the state for either side is to shore up your party's base and then go for the crucial swing voters to tip the balance. Because Southern Ohio is a Republican stronghold, a lot of these quick cabinet visits will be right here in Cincinnati.

All of this is, of course, standard election year procedure. And there is nothing wrong with the administration sending its team out to spread the word about all that it has done. Snow, Thompson and Leavitt insisted their appearances here in the same week were purely coincidental and not part of an orchestrated campaign. While they all had interesting things to say, one might wonder why the events they ostensibly were here for couldn't have been handled by lower-level members of the administration.

Leavitt, for instance, came in Wednesday to hand out a $125,000 grant to the city of Cincinnati's Brownfields Job Training and Development Pilot Program, which trains workers in environmental cleanup procedures. The Cincinnati grant is part of a $2.4 million program to conduct such training in cities all over the country. While it may be a fine program, and Cincinnati undoubtedly will make good use of the money, a $125,000 grant is the kind of thing a federal agency ordinarily announces in a one-page press release over the fax. But as long as he was in town, Leavitt had the chance to invite the press "to take a renewed look at progress the president has made on clean air." Environmental cleanup efforts over the past 30 years have reduced air pollution by half, he said. That's great progress, he said, but nothing compared to what will happen over the next few years when he says new rules put into effect by the Bush administration will take more pollutants out of the air in less time than in any point in our history.

On April 15, the EPA is to announce areas that don't meet clean-air standards - that is expected to include Southwestern Ohio and Northern Kentucky. But the agency also will issue new rules for diesel vehicles and regulations that will cut pollutants from coal-burning power plants by 70 percent by the end of the decade, Leavitt said.

"I really don't think the president gets enough credit for this," he said.

Economic outlook

Treasury Secretary Snow's visit Monday included meetings with local business leaders and bankers, as well as the press. He left no doubt that the theme of his visit was jobs, jobs and more jobs. "We want the focus to be there," he said. "If we can keep the American economy strong and growing and expanding, we'll create lots of jobs." That's certainly a topic on the mind of Ohioans, with 270,000 fewer jobs in the state than there were in 2000.

Snow's visit came just days after an Ohio Poll from the University of Cincinnati found that Bush and John Kerry, the presumptive Democratic nominee, are virtually tied in the state.

Snow stressed growth in economic productivity as he fired off the administration's talking points on the subject like a machine-gun burst:

"The economy has turned the corner."

"But we can't rest."

"Tax cuts made the difference."

"Yes, we are worried about the deficit."

"But we are focused on growth at home and abroad."

"We are better off today than we were a year ago."

The cabinet officers all hit on what they believe are going to be key election year issues. But are they the right issues, and do they hit them with the right tone?

In emphasizing productivity, Snow tried to downplay a question he was asked about jobs being outsourced to places such as India. He said outsourcing plays only "a modest role at best," in the current level of unemployment. "It's one aspect of trade, and there can't be any doubt about the fact that trade makes the economy stronger .... You can outsource a lot of activities and get them done just as well, or better, at a lower cost," he said. "If we can keep the American economy strong and growing and expanding, we'll create lots of jobs."

While the last sentence was the key point he was trying to make, the news that quickly circulated was that Snow had said outsourcing could make the economy grow.

Giving the impression that you think losing jobs to other countries is a good thing doesn't go over very well with people who are out of work or worried that their job might be the next one to go to India.

By Thursday, the Democratic mayors of Ohio's six largest cities - Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Akron, Toledo and Dayton - had sent Snow a letter accusing him of being indifferent to out-of-work Ohioans. "(Y)our statements are clearly out of touch with the struggles of Ohio's working families," the letter said.

Clearly, outsourcing needs a little more polishing as a Republican talking point.

Bringing health care home

Thompson had better luck nailing his message that improved health care will require the cooperation of the state and federal governments, as well as public acceptance of responsibility to lead healthier lifestyles. His visit overlapped Snow's on Monday. The official purpose was to host the first of several town meetings around the country on diabetes, the sixth leading cause of death in the United States.

"This is a serious problem facing our nation and a problem that if we don't do something about, it's only going to get worse," Thompson told his audience at the town meeting. The crowd cheered his message, but some complained that Ohio is one of only three states that do not require insurers to cover diabetes supplies and training programs that would help people understand how to take better care of themselves.

The shared state responsibility for quality health care is a point Thompson hit on later in the day when meeting with the Enquirer's editorial board. He noted that Medicaid, which is devouring ever-larger pieces of the state budgets in Ohio, Kentucky and many other states, needs major reform. But, he said, the state governors have been unwilling to negotiate meaningful reform.

Meanwhile, he said, the Bush administration is pushing a prescription drug plan, medical savings accounts and other reforms that survey after survey show are high priorities with the public.

How well the points made in these cabinet-level visits scored with the public during last week's visits won't be known until Election Day. What is clear is that these messages will be hammered on again and again, and Cincinnatians can expect to see plenty of out-of-town guests from Washington between now and November.

We've heard from these officials, now tell us what you think

Three members of President Bush's cabinet have come to Cincinnati in the past week, discussing what they feel will be important issues in the November election. Secretary of the Treasury John Snow talked about growth in business productivity, the overall economy and the loss of jobs to overseas outsourcing. Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson discussed the need to reform Medicaid, which has a huge impact on state budgets. He also talked about prescription drug coverage and the state of the Medicare and Social Security trust funds. Mike Leavitt, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, spoke of new clean air regulations, which could have an impact on utility companies.

Will these be deciding factors in the presidential election? What about the war on terrorism? The war in Iraq? The personal histories of the candidates?

These and many other issues involving domestic and foreign policies will be discussed in Forum as the presidential campaign unfolds. To help shape these discussions, we would like to hear what our readers think the decisive issues are that face the nation. Send us a list of the topics you would like to have debated, along with a brief explanation of why you consider each to be important. Include your name, community and daytime telephone number. Send to Presidential Topics, Editorial page, The Cincinnati Enquirer, 312 Elm St., Cincinnati, Ohio 45202. E-mail letters@enquirer.com or fax (513) 768-8610.

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David Wells is Enquirer editorial page editor. Contact him at (513) 768-8310; fax: (513) 768-8610; e-mail: dwells@enquirer.com. Cincinnati.Com keyword: Wells.