An Ohio Governor's finest moment

For several years, there has been a gigantic banner hanging in downtown Cleveland on a building across from the "Q," where the Cleveland Cavaliers play. It is a sparse Nike ad, with an image of LeBron James slam-dunking. It says only, "WE ARE ALL WITNESSES." It is a thing of beauty, and it sort of takes your breath away, and it makes you sort of proud to be a Clevelander.

But it turns out that it is in violation of some Federal law regarding the size of an advertisement and its proximity to a highway (the "Witnesses" banner is not far from where I-90 bisects Cleveland). Why this "violation" was not an issue two years ago but instead, say, THE FREAKING DAY OF THE FIRST GAME OF THE FIRST NBA FINALS THAT THE CAVS HAVE EVER REACHED IN THE HISTORY OF THEIR FRANCHISE, I don't know. But I do know that Ohio's Governor, Ted Strickland, is stepping up.

Strickland has deemed the sign "commercial art," which means it's not subject to the Federal and Ohio Department of Transportation regulations. My personal favorite Strickland quotation regarding this issue: "'We are determined to make sure this city has the opportunity to continue to enjoy this beautiful display of commercial art,' he said. Strickland disputed the notion that declaring the banner art will give Nike a special benefit. 'This is not about Nike,' he said. 'This is about Cleveland.'"

Yeah, governmental entities that aren't the Governor's office. Don't you dare try to dampen our enthusiasm and/or screw with our potential glory. Not this time.