Placeholder or contender: You decide
In the kind-of-continuing Larry Craig scandal, one debate is whether Gov. Butch Otter should appoint a placeholder to replace Craig or someone who will really be a contender.
From today's news story about it:
Congressman Mike Simpson, who also had been considered, removed his name from the running Thursday. Simpson urged Otter not to appoint a “placeholder,” but to choose a candidate who would run for re-election and build up seniority in the post.
We debated this briefly among editorial board members the other day and both options have pros and cons -- and precedents.
And remember, sometimes placeholders evolve into surprising contenders.
For instance, Lindy Boggs was elected in a quick special election after her husband, Louisiana Congressman Hale Boggs, disappeared in a plane crash. It was seen as a placeholder move, but Lindy quickly became a major Congressional player and was re-elected eight times before being named ambassador to the Vatican in 1997.
In the non-political arena, my favorite placeholder-turned-contender story concerns Pope John XXIII who was considered a placeholder pope when elected in 1958. Surprise, surprise, he called Vatican II which basically overhauled the entire Catholic church.
So placeholder or contender? You decide.
And/or remind us of other placeholders turned contenders, in any arena.
(Photo from National Women's History Museum Web site)