Next Wednesday, Gov. Jim Douglas will launch his re-election campaign with an "every county counts" tour. He'll hit about half the state Wednesday (the southern half) then cruise through the rest, winding up in St. Albans for a barbecue.
Dennise Casey, his campaign manager, wanted something other than the customary balloon decorated rally to kick off Douglas' fourth run for governor.
Hope the campaign coffers are full, but a state tour is costly these days. Of course, Progressive Anthony Pollina and Democrat Gaye Symington, his challengers, also took to the road. It's hard to get face time with Vermonters without driving around, but yikes that's going to hurt when they pull up to the gas pumps this summer and fall.
Years ago, when I was a reporter in Maine, Republican Bill Cohen donned jeans and a blue workshirt and "walked" around that state's giant second congressional district to meet voters. Cohen would serve first in the U.S. House of Representatives and then the U.S. Senate. Walking worked for him. Trekking around that district, by the way, makes walking Vermont look like a stroll in a pocket park.
So how about it gubernatorial candidates? Up for some walking? Some bike-riding?
-- Nancy Remsen