John Kasich, a first-term Governor in Ohio, is extremely unpopular these days in the Buckeye State. From Talking Points Memo:

union-busting Gov. John Kasich is now so unpopular that a recent PPP poll showed him losing a do-over election by an astounding 25-point margin. In that same poll, just 33% of voters gave Kasich positive marks on his job performance, compared to 56% who said the opposite, tying Kasich with Rick Scott as the most unpopular of 38 governors PPP has surveyed.

“Kasich and his first term Republican brethren across the Midwest may be the best thing that’s ever happened to Barack Obama’s reelection chances,” Jensen wrote.

Quick way to score some points with the proletariat? Kick LeBron while he’s down. LeBron – who I’m sure someone will argue did more for the state than Kasich will do during his tenure – is probably the only person in Ohio less popular than Kasich right now. Which is why Kasich announced this today:

“Whereas, NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Dirk Nowitzki chose to re-sign with the Dallas Mavericks in the summer of 2010, forgoing free agency and keeping his talents in Dallas, thus remaining loyal to the team, city and fans for whom he played his entire career,” reads the resolution from Gov. John Kasich.

Kasich’s resolution proclaims the Mavericks, their friends, family and fans as honorary Ohioans, with all privileges and honors therein, for the day of June 14, 2011.

Fortunately, this means absolutely nothing in the grand scheme of things. It’s just a shameless political maneuver in hopes of generating some good ch’i and perhaps winning over some uninformed voters who will remember this as the only thing Kasich ever did.