Jim Doyle is proving to be a great politician. In the last couple of months, he has taken actions as Wisconsin's attorney general to attempt to save money for the state, provide money for UW-Madison research and encourage a \clean"" campaign in September's Democratic primary. Of course, all of these actions have landed his name and his face squarely on the front page of local newspapers'giving him an advantage over the other three candidates: U.S. Rep. Tom Barrett, D-Wis., Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk and state Sen. Gary George, D-Milwaukee.
According to the results of a poll released Nov. 9, Doyle already had the support of 42 percent of those who have voted in Democratic primaries and plan to do so again. Compared to his closest contender, Barrett with 12 percent, Doyle is doing extremely well.
Elected attorney general in 1990 and re-elected in 1994 and 1998, Doyle is doing well building a good name for himself without ""campaigning.""
As Wisconsin's attorney general, he has been very involved in the legislative caucus scandal. Acting in the state's best interests (and with no ulterior motive, of course), he attempted to sue the state Legislature to prevent the use of state money to pay for the caucus workers' expensive attorneys (their lawyers charged as much as $275 an hour). If Gov. Scott McCallum had not blocked Doyle from suing on behalf of the state, the case could have saved Wisconsin more than $150,000. Though this may have been a small help to a troubled budget, legal concerns and the potential cost of the case forced McCallum's obstruction. Despite strong accusations from McCallum that Doyle used the case solely for political purposes, Doyle's assertion that he was looking out for the taxpayers to enforce the law placed him on the ""right"" side of the scandal in the eyes of many citizens.
Last week, Doyle and Wisconsin's Justice Department presented $250,000 to UW-Madison for stem-cell research. The money came from Wisconsin's $6.6 million share of the settlement from an antitrust case brought by a number of states against six foreign vitamin manufacturers. Though this donation to stem-cell research could have negative political effects among some conservatives, the effects will be relatively small and, at least for now, irrelevant'Doyle has to win the four-way Democratic primary before even thinking about the big race. Because many Democrats support stem-cell research, Doyle's move may help him keep his lead.
Most recently, Doyle called for and signed a ""clean race"" campaign pledge among those running in the Democratic primary. Needless to say, all four major candidates went in on the ""clean campaign pledge""'abstaining could reflect poorly on a contender. By calling for the pledge at June's Democratic State Convention, Doyle made himself appear to be an honest politician with only the best interests of the public in mind'not a dirty politician slinging mud on opposing candidates. This pledge is a great step for Wisconsin politics and Doyle did well as a person and a politician in taking the first step.
As the gubernatorial campaign gets rolling, Doyle already has his foot in the door. Lately he has been doing an effective job without truly campaigning. All of this, in combination with his ""official"" campaign, will place him in a prime spot to win the Democratic primary and possibly the entire race.
