We'll never quit Heath, but Blunt will quit Jeff City

Couple of big-time afternoon stories:

I'm not much for pining over Dead Actors, but Heath Ledger's passing was a kick in the gut. Talent--so much of it--left unused just sort of does that to me. He was a father and son; his family are the true mourners. Fans should simply be happy he left characters like Ennis Del Mar behind for posterity. Brokeback Mountain might have been overwrought Oscar bait, but the characters were divine. The tabloid blogosphere is agog with sorrow, rumors, and, if you can believe it, quite a bit of gay-bashing. Some people are just f***ing insane.

On the political spectrum, Matt Blunt is not running for a second term as Missouri's governor, a move that would seem to indicate some major jump in the political heirarchy: Local pundits have him as a possible No. 2 to good buddy Mitt Romney should he win the GOP nod for the White House. Others have him playing "family guy" for a few years until it's time for him to inherit his dad's U.S. House seat, or possibly even run for U.S. Senate.

Of course, it could also be partly attributable to the fact that Boy Blunt's (or Roy's Boy, or Boy Blunder, or whatever silly name Democrats tabbed him with from the start) first and only go-round as Missouri's governor was largely a disaster; his popularity fell immediately with unpopular Medicaid cuts all the way through the open-records scandal currently taking up so much newsprint in our state (News-Leader op-ed editor Tony Messenger has done a great job covering it). Well--he's been a disaster for everyone not wearing Balanced Budget Blinders (which I hear you can buy from vending machines outside most local Auto-Magic locations, as well as on eBay).

I interviewed Matt in 2004, while he was running for Governor against Claire McCaskill, and actually found him fairly well-spoken and congenial--at least over the phone; far less slippery and a little more direct than his old man, whom I also interviewed a couple of times. Roy brings in lots of dollars for this part of the state, and say thank'ya, but he's politician through and through. He also does not have very pleasant breath--or maybe Wilson's Creek National Battlefield just serves stinky coffee. Who knows?

Peace.

ML