Ohio Gov. Bob Taft may not quite look the part but the battered politician has become the real-life version of Rocky Balboa from the famous Hollywood films.

Like the title character in those movies, Taft has taken a beating but keeps on pulling himself off the mat. OK, so the Ohio politician with presidential blood has not suffered a physical assault but in the ring of public opinion the governor has been brutally beaten in 2005.

From the Bureau of Workers Compensation scandal that left millions of tax dollars missing to the golf outing debacle, harsh critics have called Taft one of the state’s all-time worst leaders.

With a year left on his final term, Taft could do his best to hide from prying eyes and avoid the media at all costs. Instead, he continues to go to work each day, as he should.

Everyone else across the state seems to be focused on Taft’s past failures but he has now started to look at future successes.

The governor recently revealed that his big initiative for 2006 will be to prepare today’s high school students for the leap into college and the work place. Details remain sketchy, but at least the man is trying to tackle one of the most important issues facing our nation instead of shying away from it.

Certainly, the figures released by the Ohio Board of Regents helped the governor focus his plan that is expected to be be fully outlined in Taft’s State of the State address after the first of the year.

The Board of Regents reported that 41 percent of Ohio’s high school graduates enrolled in public universities in Ohio in fall 2003 took at least one remedial math or English class their first year, compared to 38 percent three years earlier.

The report also showed that more than one third of those students required some extra help.

Taft hopes his program can help reduce the need for extra help in college, increase college enrollment by 30 percent by 2015 and curb high school dropout rate.

If Taft is even halfway successful in this venture, he may go a long way toward repairing his battered image.

At the very least, no one can accuse him of quitting. Just like Rocky.