Inevitably, I get a phone call with good bloggable news at about 3pm every Wednesday afternoon. Of course, that's when my standing gig is to take my daughter down to Sioux Falls for speech therapy, and I'm nowhere near a computer.

Today's hot news was that the Governor's lobbyist and legal advisor Neil Fulton has now been named his chief of staff. You'll see below that "the Rev" pointed out a couple of facts that would lead many republicans to scratch their head. Don't get me wrong. Personally, I think Neil is top notch. He's a smart guy. He's a good guy, and I suspect he will be an effective administrator.

But politically, it's a choice that leaves many Republicans going "huh?"

On one hand, Neil has been the Gov's point person on legal issues, including the Argus Leader lawsuit seeking the records of the attendees of the Governor's Hunt. But on the other hand, as the Rev noted below, at one time Neil was "campaign treasurer for Democrat Stephanie Herseth."

The last time I looked, Neil was a registered independent. Albeit, one whose main track record of political donations aside from the Governor's club consists of several donations to Herseth.  About $500 last cycle, and $2500 the cycle before that. In the 2001-2002 cycle, there was another $1750 to Herseth, and $750 to the SD Democratic Party's Federal acct. (See CQ Money line).

It puts the Governor in a quirky position as he winds down his remaining time in office. The Gov is one of the people whose advice will be sought from those Republicans hoping to succeed him. BUT.... his chief of staff has strong ties to Congresswoman Herseth Sandlin, a politician whose name keeps coming up as a potential Democratic candidate for governor.

If you were someone like Lt. Governor Dennis Daugaard, or Senate Majority Leader Knudson who have both indicated an interest in the big chair - that thought might be hanging out in the back of your mind when you talked political strategy with the Gov for the upcoming session.

So, what's your opinion on this? Do they run in the vein of "Neil is a good bi-partisan choice for the office?" Or do you find yourself saying - "what was he thinking?

Comment on this post over at dakotawarcollege.com