The Dayton Daily News:

When Marc Dann likened himself to Eliot Spitzer, this is not what he had in mind.

But the Ohio attorney general’s story should have the same outcome: a premature departure from office.

Mr. Dann has become a laughingstock. He deserves to be. This time, the image is the reality. He has made his own reputation.

The Columbus Dispatch:

Ohio’s attorney general must be able to provide leadership, command respect and exercise strong judgment. Marc Dann has failed miserably in all three and is not fit to serve.

Dann disgraced himself and his department, operating an office where the atmosphere was, in his words, “embarrassingly undignified.”

That’s an understatement. Dann, elected in November 2006 when Democrats swept four of five statewide offices, acknowledged at a news conference Friday that he had an affair with a subordinate while one of his lieutenants was sexually harassing two other attorney-general staffers. Yet another top aide tampered with the handling of the harassment complaints.

The Cincinnati Enquirer:

The tone of an organization is set by its leader. By that criterion, Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann should resign.

On Friday Dann fired two top aides and forced the resignation of another because they violated the department’s sex harassment policy. An hour later Dann acknowledged in a press conference that the standard for such misconduct had been modeled on his own behavior, as he had conducted an extramarital affair with a young female staffer. Yet Dann had the gall to say he would not step down because he was doing a “great” job as attorney general.

His hypocrisy is breathtaking. Dann was elected in 2006 as part of a Democratic sweep that promised to clean up state government from the taint of the scandal-plagued Taft years. His behavior is a betrayal of that promise and an embarrassment to the honorable people who serve in government.

And the liberal Cleveland Plain Dealer, like a scorned lover, lashes out at Dann on Friday:

Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann — his dirty linens and those of his closest associates on display for all the world to see — says he will not walk away from the job he won 18 months ago.

Nothing I’ve done is an impeachable offense, he says. Whatever happened is between me and the voters of Ohio — and they can have their say if I run for re-election. I’ve learned from my mistakes. I really wasn’t ready for the job when I was elected, but I’m a better attorney general now than I was 16 months ago.

Dann presumably believes all that. He also believes that the many fine attorneys and law-enforcement professionals who work for his office are unaffected by the scandal that erupted literally under the roof of the Columbus townhouse he once shared with a pair of senior aides. Those aides, Leo Jennings and Anthony Gutierrez, were fired Friday. Dann’s chief of staff, Edgar Simpson, resigned, as did Jessica Utovich, the scheduler with whom Dann presumably had the extramarital affair that he acknowledged on Friday.

Here’s the problem, one that Dann’s words and manner during a long meeting with this editorial board suggest he is unwilling — or unable — to see:

He’s dead wrong

By his own actions and by those of the people he trusted the most, Dann has turned the attorney general’s office into a laughingstock.

He has embarrassed the good people who work there.

He has embarrassed the governor whose coattails he rode into office, and their party.

He has embarrassed his wife and children, who did nothing to deserve this.

He has embarrassed the people who voted for him and those who depend on him.

The Toledo Blade doesn’t call for Dann to resign, but takes some major shots at him and Governor Ted Strickland:

The attorney general vowed to remain in office, saying the personal embarrassment of the scandal was punishment enough. But by the end of the day, there were growing calls for his resignation. Even Gov. Ted Strickland joined those questioning whether Mr. Dann should stay.
Mr. Strickland should not be smug, as he also has developed a dismaying amnesia about what he owes those who helped get him to office. Otherwise, the Seneca County courthouse wouldn’t be facing the wrecking ball.

At the least, the scandal surrounding Mr. Dann has wiped the shine off any sense of entitlement Ohio Democrats felt with their hold on state government, and it’s given Republicans a political opportunity they don’t deserve.

The Chilicothe Gazette:

Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann should resign immediately for one simple reason. His admissions Friday of an extramarital affair with an employee and the sexual harassment and unprofessional behavior that occurred under his watch would be more than enough for any employer or board of directors to show him the door.

It’s too bad the voters of Ohio must wait nearly three years to do the same.

And surprisingly, the only newspaper calling for a second third fourth fifth sixth chance for Dann is the Youngstown Vindicator. It is surprising considering that many of their columnists have been tough on Dann ever since this story broke in the MSM.