29 SEP 08: THE FAMILY PLAN

The invitation seemed nice and cordial enough. Journalists were invited to see a young man in Midland obtain the title of Eagle Scout Sunday. If your son can't sing well enough to appear on "America's Got Talent" or your daughter isn't pageant-worthy, you try to promote them any way you can.

But a closer look at the invitation revealed something more. The new Eagle Scout's father was openly listed as "Superior Court candidate Gil McBride III." At least they were up-front about it. Other candidates might have left the political information out, and surprised curious reporters with a room full of campaign signs.

I'm glad Gil McBride IV is now an Eagle Scout. And it's interesting to read on the invitation that his father achieved that rank as well. But the skeptical side of me looks at the calendar, notes we're five weeks from Election Day - and, well, marvels at the timing. Especially when the invitation reads more like a news release, and Mom and Dad have someone else be the "contact person."

This invitation came about two weeks after another news release was issued, on Gil McBride III's wife. It noted Betsy McBride is a "local attorney" and "mother of four." OK, that puts her one away from the Sarah Palin standard....

You can understand why political candidates want to get all the media attention they can. But it's a tricky thing to seek that attention by using members of your family. Some might call it exploitation. Others might call it a diversion. And if a relative gets in trouble with the law, it could be called the kiss of death.

Several months ago, Muscogee County Sheriff candidate Mark LaJoye hinted he might use incumbent Ralph Johnson's family as a campaign issue [7 Jul]. I don't know if he's brought it up at public appearances or not. But I also don't think any candidate has brought out photos of Adam Johnson's wedding this past summer.

Then a couple of weeks ago, an e-mail to this blog criticized Sarah Palin for bringing out her pregnant teenage daughter for public viewing "rather than sheltering her." [11 Sep] This comment now seems a little out-of-date -- as some people accuse the John McCain campaign of sheltering the running mate.

I made a private prediction several years ago, that I'll bring out now. We'll soon have a presidential race where the candidates' spouses debate each other. Apparently that will NOT take place this year - even though I've heard a lot more about Michelle Obama's speeches than her recipes for cookies.

But back to the Gil McBride family: Perhaps these invitations/news releases are coming out because of problems with the candidate's web site. The page "About Gil McBride" is empty -- and the "contact" information is so generic, you wonder if that's his son's next project after becoming Eagle Scout.

By comparison, the web site of Superior Court opponent Alonza Whitaker has a picture of his family with background information. And oh yes, Whitaker's web site shows several pictures of him. Gil McBride's site only shows a gavel. Does that even out the billboard issue?

Now for other items which had us thinking, on a Sunday that was rather steamy but relatively quiet....

+ WRBL reported a skeleton crew will keep working at Bill Heard Chevrolet for a few days, until all cars left in the service department are repaired. At least the customers won't be told everything's hopeless, and they need to buy a new car....

+ McClung Memorial Stadium hosted a "battle of the bands," with high school and college marchers. Since this took place during the Greater Columbus Fair, I assume the band members received all the foot-long hot dogs they could eat.

(The Sunday battle followed a Saturday band festival at Phenix City's Garrett-Harrison Stadium. Anyone who sat through all that band music might be chewing food in 4-4 time until Wednesday.)

+ Best Buy held a "Teacher Appreciation Night" with discount pricing. Is Sunday night the right time for this? If students are busy finishing weekend homework, shouldn't the teachers be busy with lesson plans?

+ Alabama jumped to second in the Associated Press college football poll, after its big win over Georgia. Don't worry, Tide fans - my alma mater Kansas has Oklahoma on the schedule this year, so we can do something about this.

+ Instant Message to State Senator Seth Harp: What do you mean, you "get results?" If you really did, people would be buying beer on Sundays at Columbus convenience stores by now.

COMING TUESDAY: Classic blog, with one of our favorite Bill Heard tales....

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