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| | Is Asa running for governor?
Sunday, Mar 13, 2005 By Dennis Byrd There's a place we all go - we being the fraternity of political pundits - to get our all-knowing information. OK, maybe information is too strong a word (and all-knowing definitely is too strong a modifier). To rephrase, this place is where we get some hints about what's REALLY going on in the world of Arkansas politics, then we have to draw our own conclusions, if we want to stick our necks out that far. It's called the rumor mill. Its location changes, although it spends considerable time in and near the state Capitol, especially during the slow times of a legislative session. Sometimes we in the fraternity ask pointed questions that make their way back to us in the form of a rumor. Now that we've established the reliability of "information" from the rumor mill, here's the latest: Asa Hutchinson isn't really running for governor. I don't think I buy into that one, but let's explore it anyway. First, the rumor isn't logical, but then neither is it logical that Hutchinson would want to be governor. Here's a guy who just left the second of two top administration jobs in Washington D.C., and has signed on as a homeland security consultant for a half-million dollars a year. In addition, he's setting up a separate consulting business in Arkansas while moving back to his home state, a living arrangement apparently approved by his Washington employer. And, one can only assume Hutchinson believes he can make money at home, too. I know journalists typically aren't good at math, but I'm guessing that puts his total income at something more than a half-million dollars a year. And, he wants to be governor, which pays 80-something-thousand dollars a year? Talk about something not adding up! Logic doesn't seem to play into anything about Hutchinson and his rumored bid to become governor. But, it also isn't logical that he would fuel the rumors of his candidacy if he's not going to run. I visited with Hutchinson by e-mail the other day. We get along fine now, but our relationship got off to a rocky start. The former congressman has been known to introduce me as the first guy to endorse his opponent the first time he ran for statewide public office. That's true; it was 1986 and he was running against Dale Bumpers, one of the most talented and brightest public servants in the state's history and Hutchinson didn't measure up in experience, political acumen or philosophy. Hutchinson, a former U.S. attorney, was not all that far removed from his education at Bob Jones University, where even the buildings leaned to the right (hyperbole), and I couldn't get that out of my mind, even though he tried to play it down by saying he had nothing to do with university policy and was there only for educational purposes. That was a different time. I learned to like and respect Hutchinson as he became co-chairman, then chairman, of the state Republican Party. He was good for the party, played his role in an even-handed way, and parlayed that experience into becoming a successful candidate for Congress in his home district. After serving as a House manager in President Clinton's impeachment trial, Hutchinson left elective office to work in the Bush administration, first in the Drug Enforcement Administration, then in the new Department of Homeland Security. He now has the experience, political and otherwise, he lacked when he took on the popular Bumpers. I'm still having trouble pitting 80-odd thousand dollars against more than half a million, but as a Republican political wonk reminded me, it's never been about the money with Asa. So, what about the sometimes-reliable rumor mill? Where could such a rumor have originated? Well, now that I think about it, this one seemed to be coming from somewhere in the Capitol, where the only announced gubernatorial candidate has an office ... Hmmm. Asa says in his e-mail that I should be patient and reminds me the rumor mill churns out untruths at the same (or sometimes higher) rate than the truths. He also says he'll come by for coffee; he may want to talk endorsements - future not past. ----- Dennis A. Byrd is chief of the Arkansas News Bureau in Little Rock. His e-mail address is dbyrd@arkansasnews.com; his telephone number is (501) 374-0699. |
