Gov. Ted Strickland said Thursday that Ohio is not in a recession, blaming President Bush for the perception and urging residents to "hang tough."

A story from the AP says, Strickland, a Democrat, said rising fuel costs and the price tag for the ongoing war in Iraq are factors that lead to concerns about the economy. The first-term governor cautioned that pessimism could inspire further economic downturn.

"We continue to have modest growth in our economy," Strickland told Columbus TV station WCMH. "It's not as robust as it should be. It's not as evenly spread across the state as we would like it to be. But in a traditional, statistical sense, we are not in a recession."

He declined to characterize the national economy and encouraged hope.

"This can be a self-fulfilling prophecy," he said. "We can talk ourselves into a recession."

He also said: "What I would say to the people of Ohio is just hang tough, give us some time, we're doing the best that we can."

Ohio's economy consistently posts an unemployment rate 1 percentage point higher than the national rate. Manufacturing jobs continue to evaporate and worries about the economy are about even among Republicans and Democrats, according to exit polls conducted by The Associated Press and the television networks during Ohio's March 4 primary.

"So many of our people are suffering, finding it very difficult to sustain themselves and their families, to pay their bills, to pay their mortgages," Strickland said.

He used the interview to criticize President Bush and his Republican administration.