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Having Fun With MojoHey kids! Governor Manchin here! Hey, have you ever taken credit for something that someone else did? Like, at home, has your Mommy or Daddy ever praised you for, say, making your bed, when really it was your big sister who made it for you? And you just kept quiet and let them think you did it? Well, I like to do the same thing! Like just Tuesday, I had my crack staff crank out a press release announcing that "Gov. Joe Manchin’s plan to ensure that new West Virginia residents moving into the state will no longer be subject to the 5 percent privilege tax on automobiles takes effect June 7." But the truth is, it wasn't my plan at all! Delegate Craig Blair is the one who came up with the plan that really made it happen! Isn't that funny? The same thing happened with a bill called Logan's Law! On that one, I even had to remind my own party to "reclaim ownership" of the bill so I could get the credit! Sometimes even they forget! But I always remind them! When you're the Governor, everything is yours!
The Charleston Gazette is under investigation by the Department of Justice in regard to its Joint Operating Agreement with the Charleston Daily Mail. On an unrelated note, I just happened to get a sneak peek at The Charleston Gazette's hastily prepared editorials scheduled to run next week. Here's a preview.When West Virginia Supreme Court Justice Brent Benjamin was invited to participate in Wednesday's event at the National Press Club in Washington D.C., many observers felt he was walking into a trap.After all, the subject of the forum, sponsored by the The Annenberg Public Policy Center and FactCheck.org, was Mudslinging in Judicial Campaigns: Beginning to Look a Lot Like Congress.Participants in the event seemed prepared to accuse Benjamin of being bought and paid for by Massey CEO Don Blankenship, as well as being the beneficiary of "unfair" ads focusing on the case of Tony Arbaugh, a child rapist whose conviction was overturned by the state Supreme Court when Warren McGraw was on the bench. But after listening to several panelists, including Democrat consultants, blast the "travesty" of third party campaigns in judicial elections, Benjamin played a few soundbites of his own.Among the audio highlights shared by Benjamin was the "Looking for Ugly" radio ad produced in 2004 by the West Virginia Republican Party, which focused on McGraw's infamous Labor Day "rant at Racine." Benjamin additionally played some other ads and radio satires that later aired based on those same off-the-wall remarks by McGraw.Benjamin's point was that McGraw's own demeanor played a bigger role in his defeat than the Arbaugh case or the amount spent on the election. When West Virginians began questioning McGraw's own demeanor and temperament, based on his scream at Racine, the momentum of the election shifted, Benjamin explained.Benjamin also pointed out that third parties attacked him, including Consumers for Justice, which ran ads insinuating Benjamin wanted to remove the Bible from public life.But Benjamin stood firm in defense of the First Amendment rights of individuals and groups to participate in the election process -- something you might think would be well accepted at the National Press Club.He also said he agreed with U.S. Supreme Cout Justice John Roberts, who has said, "Judges should be impartial arbiters of the law, not partisan policymakers," as well as former Justice Sandra Day O'Conner, who has said, "There is no valid defense of partisan election of judges." Kathleen Hall Jamieson, director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center, opened the conference, and Viveca Novak, deputy director of FactCheck.org, served as moderator. The event was taped and should be broadcast, most likely on CSPAN, in the near future.The investigation of The Charleston Gazette by the U.S. Department of Justice (one political observer on Wednesday cracked that Arch Moore Jr. must be smiling) shines a spotlight on the complicated arrangement known as a Joint Operating Agreement.JOAs began springing up in the 1970s as a way to save afternoon newspapers from certain extinction. In short, JOAs allow two newspapers to share business, advertising, printing and delivery systems while protecting and guaranteeing independent editorial control. The goal is noble, but the actual implementation is sometimes sticky. In every city where JOAs have existed, suspicions have always arisen that the more healthy, dominant paper -- always the morning paper -- is privately trying to put its afternoon counterpart out to pasture through manipulative business decisions.Also named in the suit is MediaNews, former Daily Mail owner which is now paid by The Gazette to manage the DM's editorial operations. In The Gazette's own version of the story published Wednesday, MediaNews President Joseph Lodovic weighed in, offering the point that, That's nice, but of course it's also irrelevant. The DOJ is not claiming editorial interference; it is alleging an effort by The Gazette to put the Daily Mail out of business.The fact is, the Daily Mail would probably be gone already if The Gazette had not purchased it. Afternoon papers have been going the way of the dinosaur for three decades. People want their news early, and with radio, TV and the Internet, there's not much they don't know by the time they get home from work and pick up the p.m. paper.Still, the Daily Mail is invaluable to the Kanawha Valley. It provides a much-needed counterpart to the all-too-predictable Opinion Page slant of The Gazette. If the allegations are true and the Daily Mail has been slated for the dust bin, anything that prolongs its existence is a positive move.In an interview with the Charleston Daily Mail that appeared Wednesday, Gov. Joe Manchin said Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are "tremendous candidates," and he looks forward to West Virginia visits by them and other Democrat candidates for president.The remark contradicts the opinion of many who have guessed that Manchin would be uncomfortable with Clinton or Obama as his party's nominee, given his image as a conservative Democrat, and that he would distance himself from either candidate. 
The focus of the story was on Manchin's friendship with New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, who recently made his presidential aspirations official. Manchin denied he would be the vice presidential half of a Richardson ticket, but praised his fellow governor as a worthy contender.But when asked about Clinton and Obama, Manchin offered his enthusiastic comments, demonstrating that his loyalty to his party outweighs his recognition of the obvious, i.e., either Clinton or Obama would be disastrous for West Virginia.
