Has it occurred to Edgar Allen Beem that there are actually intelligent civic-minded Republicans who will not vote for Gov. Paul LePage or Mike Michaud and will choose Eliot Cutler? Has it occurred to him that the waffling on gun control, choice, and demanding accountability from the Veterans Administration are not qualities of leadership, but political gamesmanship? And maybe Democrats and Republicans don’t like that either? Has it occurred to him that quality in a governor means that who you surround yourself with makes a difference, and that Republicans and Democrats do not want a governor who chooses staff whose track records suggest they are better suited to be hotel event planners than facilitators of constituent support and democracy?

And last but not least, today’s Real Clear Politics Average (the average of the polls) says that with Michaud at 39.4 percent, LePage 38.4 percent and Cutler at 16 percent, to bridge the Cutler-Michaud gap would take 12 percent of the voters. Why? Because every vote that switches from Michaud and goes to Cutler means that Michaud goes down one and Cutler goes up one. And the 12 percent that Cutler needs to gain makes him and Michaud equals. So then we’re back to a 3 percent lead by LePage, and again there have got to be more than 3 percent of voters who maybe voted Republican before but cannot tolerate Lepage’s public persona. The margin of error in the polls or a small group of Republicans turning to Cutler can change that and bring him to the Blaine House.

Susan Cook
Bath

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