Well, I'm not only a Vermonter but have also had the opportunity to participate in a couple of meetings with him. (Also sat with him at a Senior luncheon a few years back.) He's actually a pretty interesting guy to watch at work. While he is very good at blowing his own horn, he is also pretty common-sense and unduplicitous. He has a very real temper, is genuinely passionate about his issues, and shoots from the hip enough so that you generally have a good idea of where he stands. His accomplishments, while spun favorably, are real... he got a lot of his ideas and programs acted on in a state with a _lot_ of contentious people. In the process, he left us in a strong fiscal position compared to most states, and I suspect could have remained governor until the last trump if he'd wanted too. Since hitting the national stage his rhetoric has gotten a lot more openly leftist and aggressive than it used to be but I expect his core beliefs are unchanged. He's always seemed to me to be very pragmatic and somewhat conservative fiscally and progressive in his approach to social problems. He is intelligent and thinks well on his feet and will not go out his way to avoid a fight. Could be a very interesting candidate, I think.

Sandy