The Big Sky Dem.....

[Wetzelbill]

The Big-Sky Dem
By MARK SUNDEEN
Published: October 8, 2006

It’s fun being governor of Montana. Just watch Brian Schweitzer bouncing around the streets of Helena in the passenger seat of the state’s official S.U.V., fumbling with wires, trying to stick the flashing police light on the roof. When he spots some legislators on the sidewalk, he blasts them with the siren, then summons them by name on the loudspeaker. The men jump, and the governor tumbles out of the car, doubled in laughter, giving everyone a bear hug or a high-five or a soft slap on the cheek. Schweitzer, a Democrat in his first term, marches into a barroom in blue jeans and cowboy boots and a beaded bolo tie, and his border collie, Jag, leaps out of the vehicle and follows him in. The governor throws back a few pints of the local brew and introduces himself to everyone in the place, down to the servers and a small girl stuck there with her parents. He takes time from the backslapping to poach cubes of cheese from the snack platter and sneak them to the girl, who is now chasing his dog around the bar. “This is how you make friends with Jag,” he advises her. “Just hold it in your hand and let him take it.”

As soon as Schweitzer was elected in 2004 — the same night that George W. Bush carried Montana by 20 percentage points — pundits began declaring him the future of the Democratic Party. Never mind that it was his first elected office: the 51-year-old farmer and irrigation contractor had folksy charm and true-grit swagger. He shot guns, rode horses, took his dog to work and decimated his opponents with off-the-cuff one-liners heavy on the bull-and-horse metaphors. He didn’t act like a Democrat, in other words, and to many Democrats, reeling from consecutive losses to Bush, that seemed like a pretty good thing.


http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/08/magazine/08governor.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

[havocmom]

1. Ask him about the Sauds. He knows.

Spent time there, making the desert turn green. He is a man who solves problems, faces reality and sees how things can be turned around for the better.

Pay attention, America. He has some pretty good answers for our problems, short term and long term.

And he cares about people.

[Wetzelbill]

2. a rancher who speaks Arabic

if that isn't interesting. :)

[havocmom]

3. He understands that America is best served by energy independence

while bushco plays kissy-face with Sauds and flies Bin Ladens out of the US while the rest of the nation faces NO FLY rules.

Hell, a rancher not far from me, working guy with no time for TV and no radio reception, took his plane up on 9-12-01 to get a part for a tractor. Town bein so far and a big ol lake away, flying was the only practical means he had.

Welp, I'll tell ya, he was right surprised when those fighter jets showed up and forced him down. He hadn't heard about 9-11 and damned near got shot outta the Big Sky of eastern Montana. But the Bin Laden family members got flown about safely.

Yep, Brian knows about the Sauds. And we know how the bushes cozy up to Sauds.

Brian wants America free of the yoke of energy dependence on the
House of Saud. And he wants Americans to know there are win/win solutions to problems we all face as a people.

Takes time to show a little girl how to make pals with Jag. That says a lot too. ;)

[Wetzelbill]

4. nothing like utilizing a dog to score cheap points with the girls

Classic MT male trick. Works on all ages. Not that I would know that or anything. :) I just heard things...

That is a great story. Man, I bet that rancher damn near had a heart attack when he saw those jets, haha.

[havocmom]

5. After landing, I assume a change of Carharts was in order

Poor chap, no idea what had happened.