Running under Shumlin’s nose?

Vermonter’s probably wouldn’t fault a politician for keeping the next campaign never far from his or her mind. And certainly not many would fault an office holder for wanting to keep their face in the spotlight and their ear to the ground about the public mood.
Therefore I am left wondering if Vermont Lieutenant Governor Phil Scott hasn’t started a highly visible yet stealthy campaign for higher office right under Governor Shumlin’s nose.

It’s hard to miss the genius of what Republican Lt. Governor Phil Scott with a passing resemblance to the Discovery Channels’ “Dirty jobs” host Mike Rowe hit upon with his “Vermont Everyday Jobs” Initiative. It is as if the last gubernatorial election’s contrived and awkward listening tours by former Lt.Gov.Brian Dubie had evolved legs or even wings to emerge as a higher campaign life form from the primordial ooze of earlier elections.

Scott may have crafted the perfect permanent campaign, Vermont style right under the governor’s nose. “Vermont Everyday Jobs” with a heavy emphasis on listening to business needs is designed to:

promote Vermont businesses and highlight the hard work that Vermonters do every day in all areas of our economy. By finding out firsthand, and in a hands-on manner, what it takes to make Vermont businesses work, the Lt. Governor will gain a better understanding of what state government can do to help those businesses work better. The tour will also help to facilitate relationships and ongoing dialogue between Vermont business leaders and their representatives in state government.

I would like to think Scott cooked it up while driving around and around in his stock car at Thunder Road International race track. Around and around he goes on the campaign trail.
Phil Scott has so far spent his days being an emergency department worker at a hospital, on an electric utility power line crew, changed oil at fast lube franchise, assembled items at a solar panel maker and taught spelling at a K-2 school.
He’s got six everyday business friendly jobs under his belt and more to follow. A steady series of press releases and mostly content free news stories about these “jobs” have appeared at almost regular intervals and Scott has avoided falling from the spotlight as can happen to less creative lieutenant governors.