Ohio could decide yet another presidential election this year. That’s what brought David Gregory, host of NBC’s Sunday public-affairs show, to the Renaissance Cleveland Hotel in May. He moderated a discussion with regional leaders such as Cleveland Clinic CEO Toby Cosgrove and Sherwin-Williams CEO Christopher Connor about how Ohio can influence the national conversation about politics and the economy. We spoke with Gregory to get his political forecast for this fall’s election and beyond. — Erick Trickey

1 - Ohio has a huge influence on who wins the presidency. Does that also give us an unusual influence on the national political debate? 
I think so, if it’s leveraged in the right way. Who better than an Ohio voter to lead the charge on dealing with the excesses of negative campaigning or a lack of cooperation in Washington, the dysfunction in the political system? If you live in Ohio, you have that power to really send a statement.

2 - What’s most likely to change for businesses if Romney is elected?
I think you’d see a big push for tax reform under him. You might see another effort toward tort reform. Whether he overturns Dodd-Frank [the 2010 financial sector regulations] — he’s said that that’s his position. So I think business would perceive a friendlier and a more certain business environment. I think that’s the argument he’ll make.

3 - How will businesses be affected if Obama is re-elected?
I think the president in a second term would endeavor to forge a better relationship with the business community, just because it’s been at such a low point in this first term; I think that there’s a real incentive to try to improve that. And as economic conditions improve, I think there’s more room for him to do that, to seek out more public/private partnerships, for
instance.

- NEONow

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