Jim Barnett, the erstwhile head of the Vermont Republican Party who's now consumed with all things John McCain, returned to the Statehouse today to drum up support for his presidential candidate. Barnett is working for McCain's campaign in New England.
He wondered when we'd start covering the presidential primaries. Huh? I said. Didn't he hear that whole gobs of the public were choking over how much attention is already being paid to a race that's two years away? He hadn't. When your job is to promote one of the candidates, you begin to think that's what everybody's thinking about, 24/7.
Standing outside the House chamber as members were coming in Tuesday morning, the boy from Barre showed what happens when you leave home and start seeing how things are in other states. Barnett commented that the Vermont Legislature really needs an electronic voting board in each chamber. I have seen such a scoreboard in the Texas Legislature. Nice ornate room, much like ours, with a big ugly electronic board up front. I'm sure it's very efficient, but it's like having faux-wood paneling in your Victorian home.
He was - not by me - accused of turning into a liberal. Which he denied.
- Terri Hallenbeck
