How to rev Jesse Jackson's rockets

If you want to see Jesse Jackson get all worked up, ask him about the 30 to 40 percent of Ohio's African-American voters who are telling pollsters they will vote for Republican Ken Blackwell for governor.

Then stand back, plant your feet firmly on the ground and prepare to weather a tsunami of words, none of them particularly complimentary to the candidate who could become the first African-American governor of Ohio.

"Some people might be blurred by pride in having a black man in that office, but they must understand - you choose your leader based on public values,'' Jackson told the Enquirer, standing out on a balcony at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, where he was about to address a gathering of the Ohio Legislative Black Caucus.

"Some people were proud of Clarence Thomas when he was nominated,'' said Jackson of very conservative black Supreme Court justice. "Nobody's proud of Clarence Thomas now.''

Jackson reached in his coat pocket and whipped out a copy of an Aug. 24, 1990 Enquirer op-ed piece written by Blackwell when he was running for Congress. In it, Blackwell called the Civil Rights Act of 1990 "fraudulent" and a piece of "legislative legerdemain,'' and urged President George H.W. Bush to veto it.

Jackson blamed Blackwell, in his role as Ohio secretary of state, for making it more difficult for inner-city black voters to cast their ballots in 2004 and said the situation is getting nothing but worse with new rules restricting voter registration driv es and requiring voters to provide photo IDs.

'He's has a right to be on the Bush-Cheney-Gonzalez team,'' Jackson said. "But people need to vote for candidates who are on their side.''

Jackson also suggested that Blackwell should step aside as Ohio's chief elections officer in an election where he is a top-of-the-ticket candidate.

"You can't be an owner and a player on the same team,'' Jackson said. "Even Michael Jordan couldn't pull that off.''