Gov let his ego do the talking

Inter Lake editorial

It's puzzling why Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer made the remarks he did in Philadelphia regarding the 2006 election, and some people are even more puzzled over what to do about it.

A Republican activist from Bozeman is demanding an investigation, alleging that Schweitzer's remarks indicate he was "tampering" with the election that put Sen. Jon Tester in office over incumbent Republican Conrad Burns.

But the governor says he was just "joking around" to make his speech before the American Association for Justice "more colorful."

Montana Republican Chairman Erik Iverson said the comments were "inappropriate and breathtakingly foolish."

At the very least, Schweitzer's remarks were careless.

Many people know that the governor is quite the talker, so some will predictably dismiss the incident as a case of Schweitzer just being Schweitzer.

But others are taking his remarks very seriously. Schweitzer told the trial lawyers a story about tribal police officers chasing Republican poll watchers from reservations with trumped up threats of arrest.

Schweitzer has since said that he knows of no incidents of intimidating poll watchers on reservations. So why did he say it? Just to enjoy the bemused laughter of the crowd? To stroke his own ego?

Schweitzer also told the trial lawyers that he called the Butte-Silver Bow County election office on election night to find out about the vote count in seven precincts. The perception among Schweitzer critics is that the governor had some kind of influence in how votes were being counted and when the results were being released.

Schweitzer also took a jab at The Associated Press, for failing to declare Tester the winner the morning after the election. Schweitzer told the trial lawyers that he told the AP that morning that he would be holding a press conference to announce Tester as the winner himself because "you're not doing your job."

And that's what he did, with the AP declaring Tester the winner two minutes before the press conference.

This was a dose of boasting, obviously, on the weight Schweitzer can bring to bear on the media. But is it really necessary, especially for a skilled politician like Schweitzer? Probably not.

In any case, the governor has vowed not to make any more jokes about the election process. A late call certainly, but like the AP's call on the Tester-Burns race in 2006, ultimately the right one.