repubgazette5-4-07cabinetheadsphotoopsirelandhaddad

Having Fun With Mojo

A daily feature from the Governor

offering helpful hints for youngsters

The best thing about being Governor

Hey kids! Governor Manchin here! Today's

lesson is about how much fun it is to be Governor of West Virginia. You know how most of you want to grow up to be a famous athlete, or an astronaut, or a movie star? Not me! When I was a little boy, I knew I wanted to be Governor of West Virginia. So I studied real hard, stayed out of trouble, and got myself elected to the State Legislature. Then I ran for Governor. But you know what? I lost! That's right. The first time I ran for Governor, I got beat by some mean girl! So you know what I did? Right! I helped make sure a nice man named Cecil Underwood beat her! Then I got elected Secretary of State so I could spend four years making sure everyone knew what a nice guy I was! I sure had to work hard to do that. I had to send people thousands of posters and certificates and pens and pictures, but my hard work paid off! Do you know what an approval rating is? An approval rating is a survey that tells you how much people love you! And guess what? People love me a lot! So when I ran for Governor again, almost everybody voted for me! The best thing about being Governor is having everybody love me! Hey, here's a fun thing you can do based on today's lesson. Ask ten of your little friends at school if they like you. Keep track of who says yes and who says no. Then, give them all something for free, like a new toy, or a ticket to a movie, or even some money! Then, go around and ask them again if they like you. You'll be amazed that just about all of them will like you now! That's all for today, kids. Check back Monday when I talk about the importance of family. See you later!

Submissions welcome

The Republican Gazette welcomes Emails to the Editor and press releases. All submitted items must include the name and contact information for the author of the article, and all articles will only be published with the author's name included. Thank you for reading and participating in The Republican Gazette, another of West Virginia's most biased publications.

Manchin administration cabinet officials have been told to be on the lookout for photo ops for the governor to be used for the campaign.

According to a source familiar with a cabinet meeting held this week, the order came on the heels of this week's photo op that featured corrections workers showing up at the Capitol with signs thanking Manchin for their pay raises.

The governor posed with those who were there and shook everyone's hand as cameras captured the event, according to news reports.

A request for government employees to find photo ops for use in the governor's campaign would be a likely violation of the Hatch Act, a federal law that under most circumstances also precludes state workers from using their government jobs for political purposes.

While corrections workers are happy with their pay, most state employees are not, a situation Manchin is eager to turn around. One avenue is to find opportunities to create images of him interacting positively with state workers.

Yesterday I reported on the Charleston City Treasurer's race and how Democrat incumbent Vic Grigoraci is practically plagiarizing Danny Wells' cheesy "get him out of my house" campaign by mailing out a booklet of recipes by Grigoraci's wife, Judy, which asks voters to "get him out of my kitchen".

(The Charleston Gazette continues to print Judy's cooking column on its front section pages during the campaign, but that's another story.)

What folks need to be reminded of is that Grigoraci's Republican opponent, Sam Haddad, is married to Republican Secretary of State Betty Ireland. If ever there were a time to use a spouse's name to help your campaign, it would be now, especially considering that in the 2004 election, Betty got more votes in Kanawha County than just about anyone.

But Sam and Betty have chosen not to go that route. I asked her about this recently, and Betty told me that she made the decision long ago not to use her office as the state's chief election official to influence anyone's vote. She also told me that while she would love to help her husband's campaign by using her name in his media ads, she would not do that. She even begged off on an idea to use her voice anonymously in his radio ads.

There is no law against the Secretary of State helping her spouse in his campaign, and it would not be an ethics violation, either.

Betty Ireland and Sam Haddad just decided to do the right thing, and that decision, while not necessary, is an illustration of a class act.