Offline, I was asked about a recent Coeur d'Alene Press letter to the editor by John S. Reed/Coeur d'Alene Press, which raises questions about a musical chair arrangement. Reed surmises that Butch Otter will resign his congressional seat to concentrate on his gubernatorial run next year. Then, Gov. Dirk Kempthorne will appoint Kootenai County Sheriff Rocky Watson (who, Reed sez, has gale-wind backing from Duane Hagadone). That'll open the sheriff's spot for Capt. Ben Wolfinger to be appointed to. Concludes Reed:

"Then, should Mike Crapo become a candidate for the Supreme Court, that will leave his seat open and I can only guess that Gov. Kempthorne will be appointed to fill Crapo’s seat, and “Boss Hog” will have all his musical chairs filled to his satisfaction, and all will be well in the county and state of Idaho."

DFO: Interesting scenario, involving a lame-duck governor, but that'd mean Rocky would have to throw his hat in the ring fairly soon to be a legit candidate to retain the job. I just don't see any of this happening ...

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