Some of you will look at Sen. Bernie Sanders' hiring of Will Wiquist as a spokesman to mean that Sanders is adding a new mouthpiece.

I look at it this way: Things aren't looking good for the Hungry Vermont softball team. Will was a smooth and versatile infielder with a steady bat on a very inconsistent, and some would say, bad team this summer. I was the pitcher on that team. I would say the 2008 season was in jeopardy anyway, but Will's departure isn't going to help.

Wiquist is joining Sanders' D.C. staff, to crank out the senator's words of wisdom to the media alongside Michael Briggs. He will, in essence, replace Erin Campbell, who did the speaking for Sanders when he was in the House but left his employ in the spring.

Wiquist is the latest from a team of young, politically charged former Welch for Congress staffers to find his way into a full-time political gig. It's clear that that campaign has been good for the careers of more than Peter Welch.

Wiquist, at 29 one of the older members of the crew, has worked for the Vermont Democratic Party, for the Federal Election Commission and as a volunteer for Howard Dean's and Bill Bradley's presidential campaigns before coming back to Vermont to work for Welch's 2006 House campaign.

Some others from Welch's staff who found gainful political employment after the campaign: Andrew Savage, Welch's communications director; Calvin Garner, Welch's press assistant, Claire Benjamin, a Welch legislative assistant; Molly Gray, Welch's scheduler; and Jill Krowinski, executive director of the Vermont Democratic Party. Welch's former state Senate aide Chesley Thurber also landed a spot on his D.C. staff.

The fact that so many of them are young is no coincidence. Youthful exuberance, a willingness to move and a lack of expectations concerning salary are key factors to snagging political jobs. Most campaign jobs are part-time, seasonal and low-paying. Every cycle it seems like there are people eager to do it, though.

- Terri Hallenbeck