I’ll be out of the office and not posting anything on “Checking In” until Monday, Dec. 31. See you then. — Paul Giblin

The best political speech I’ve heard in some time was delivered by Republican presidential candidate Michael P. Shaw, who wore sunglasses and a T-shirt that read “Geek Squad” to a public event at the State Capitol on Tuesday.

State elections officials, campaign workers and a number of reporters had gathered at the Capitol to watch Secretary of State Jan Brewer conduct a drawing to determine the order that the names of
Arizona’s 48 official candidates will appear ballots for the presidential preference election is Feb. 5.

I wrote about the event in Tuesday’s paper. The newspaper version of the story can be accessed here: Shaw was one of two presidential candidates who attended the drawing. He stayed afterward as a press conference broke out. Shaw watched the Q&A session for a while, then objected quite strongly when I asked Brewer whether she thought political pranksters had juked the system to get their names on the official ballots.

Check in again at www.evtrib.com on Thursday. I have another interesting story about
Arizona’s quirky presidential preference election…

The White House

Sandy Whitehouse, who is one of Arizona’s official presidential candidates, is running for the White House on the strength of her name. Naturally.

“I’m running for president because my name is Whitehouse,” Whitehouse said. If elected, she said will consolidate the first and second lines of all presidential correspondence, thus saving the federal government money associated with printing the words “President Whitehouse” and the words “White House” on letterhead.

She told me that the savings would be used to fund universal healthcare, education for all children, grants to stop global warming and a guest-worker program. Furthermore, she would halt federal funding for war profiteers, atom bombs, fusion bombs, uranium weaponry, big talk and threats to under-developed third-world countries.

“I figure with those two objectives, I will be able to fund all the things this country needs,” said Whitehouse, a Democrat. Furthermore, she’s retired, so she has enough time on her hands to run the country, she said.

Whitehouse is a great-grandmother who lives in Corona De Tucson, which is just outside of
Tucson. She married into her presidential-sounding name decades ago. Her husband, Bruce Whitehouse, is Corona De Tucson’s fire chief. “It’s a good English name,” she said.

Whitehouse said she is running a self-funded campaign to avoid the scourge of lobbyists. So far, she has spent a total of 41 cents, which was used to buy a stamp to send her nominating paperwork to the Secretary of State’s Office, though she may double or even triple her cash outlay before Feb. 5.

Whitehouse said she is prepared to debate all her Democratic opponents, even frontrunner Hillary Clinton. “I like Hillary. I’m particularly found of her choice of husbands,” she said.

Whitehouse said she is counting on her own husband to vote for her, which brings her current projected vote count to precisely four. She said she is trying to secure three more – two grandchildren and a grandson-in-law. “I’ll have seven votes. And the way this is spread out over a large field, I could win, because I think that’s a solid block,” she said.

Consider the list of candidates who filed the necessary paperwork by Friday afternoon.

On the Democratic side, ballots will feature a “Who’s Who” selection of national candidates that includes Hillary Clinton, Christopher Dodd, John Edwards, Mike Gravel, Barack Obama and Bill Richardson.

Yet, Democratic ballots also will feature a “Who’s That?” slate of candidates that includes people named Peter “Simon” Bollander, William Campbell, Edward Dobson, Tish Haymer, Rich Lee, Frank Lynch, Leland Montell, Michael Oatman, Chuck See, Philip Tanner, Evelyn Vitullo and Sandy Whitehouse.

On the Republican side, the “Who’s Who” side of the ledger features national candidates Rudy Giuliani, Duncan Hunter, Alan Keyes, John McCain, Ron Paul, Mitt Romney and Fred Thompson.

The GOP “Who’s That?” selection includes people named Hugh Cort, Jerry Curry, John Michael Fitzpatrick, Bob Forthan, Daniel Gilbert, Frank McEnulty, John R. McGrath, James Creighton Mitchell Jr., David Ruben, Michael P. Shaw, Jack Shepard and Charles Skelley.

At least 13 of the presidential candidates live in Tucson and appear to have exactly zero political experience and zero hope of being elected.

“You know, I cannot comment officially on any of that other than to tell you that the process for appearing on the presidential preference ballot is different than it is to appear in the primary election,” said state election director Joe Kanefield told me.

The process to appear on the presidential primary ballots requires little more than completing a notarized two-page form affirming that the candidate is a natural born U.S. citizen, at least 35 years old, and has been a U.S. resident for at least 14 years.

State law for primary elections, such as those for the U.S. Senate and governor’s office, are different. Primary elections require candidates to gather petitions from other registered voters.

Kanefield said he was a loss to explain the surge of presidential aspirants from Tucson, though the surge of would-be candidates certainly could have something to do with Project White House, an effort by the Tucson Weekly, an alternative newspaper based in the Old Pueblo. Yeah, just maybe.

According to its Web site, Tucson Weekly is encouraging its readers to run for office with the promise of giving ink to those candidates its editors deem newsworthy. Kanefield said elections officials will continue to accept applications until 5 p.m. today, Monday, Dec. 17. “We just receive these things and ensure that they’re in proper order. If so, then they will be certified for the ballot of Feb. 5,” he said.

Arizona has a reputation for attracting a broad field for its presidential preference elections. In 2004, 18 candidates appeared on the Democratic ballot. The Republicans didn’t conduct a similar election that year because President Bush was running for a second term.

Arizona Secretary of State Jan Brewer will oversee a drawing in her Phoenix office Tuesday to determine the order in which all the candidates’ names will appear on the 2008 Democratic and Republican ballots. The candidates themselves are invited to attend.

Mike Huckabee

Barack Obama and Mike Huckabee are expected to become official candidates in
Arizona’s presidential preference elections soon.

Campaign officials for Obama were expected to file the necessary paperwork with the Arizona Secretary of State’s Office today, Thursday, Dec. 13, while campaign officials for Huckabee were expected to do likewise Friday, Dec. 14.

Obama and Huckabee certainly go on the “Who’s Who” side of the ledger, rather than the “Who’s That?” side.

To date, the “Who’s Who” candidates who will appear on ballots in Arizona on Feb. 5 are Republicans Huckabee, Rudy Giuliani, Duncan Hunter and Mitt Romney; plus Democrats Obama, Christopher Dodd, John Edwards and Mike Gravel.

The list of “Who’s That?” candidates who also will appear on ballots are Republicans named John Fitzpatrick, Daniel Gilbert, John McGratch and Jack Shepard; plus Democrats named Frank Lynch, Leland Montell, Philip Tanner and Evelyn Vitullo.

Jim Sharpe

We return now to the topic of media’s alleged political bias…

The PR firm that is handling presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s campaign announced Sunday that it hired local newsman Jim Sharpe to replace departed former local newsman Robbie Sherwood.

Sherwood, a former reporter for the East Valley Tribune and Arizona Republic, left Rose & Allyn Public Relations a few weeks ago after about a year at the Scottsdale-based PR firm to become district director for U.S. Rep. Harry Mitchell, D-Ariz.

Sharpe, according to the never-subtle Jason Rose, is a “killer radio news personality.” Sharpe is an award-winning reporter and talk show host who most recently was on KFYI-550 AM. He also worked for KTAR-620 AM in Phoenix, plus at stations in Los Angeles and Dallas.

So figure that one out…

A former radio newsman is joining a PR firm that’s handling Republican Romney’s campaign to replace a former newspaper guy who left the PR firm for a job with Democrat Mitchell. And both previously worked in the media. Something must be amiss!

That is, of course, if you buy into the whole media bias conspiracy business…

Ron Paul and Rudy Giuliani

Aides for presidential candidates Rudy Giuliani and Ron Paul filed the necessary paperwork at the Arizona Secretary of State’s Office on Friday to be included in
Arizona’s presidential preference election on Feb. 5.

To date, the list features eight Republicans and seven Democrats. Both sides include several mystery candidates.

The Republicans: Known candidates Giuliani, Paul, Duncan Hunter and Mitt Romney, plus people named John Fitzpatrick, Daniel Gilbert, John McGratch and Jack Shepard.

The Democrats: Known candidates Christopher Dodd, John Edwards and Mike Gravel, plus people named Frank Lynch, Leland Montell, Philip Tanner and Evelyn Vitullo.

Secretary of State’s Office spokesman Kevin Tyne noted that according to Arizona law, prospective candidates need only be U.S. citizens to appear on the ballot. “As in year’s past, we have citizens who know that and just get their names on the list,” Tyne said. “They don’t necessarily have campaign committees or are nationally involved.”

According to Shepard’s candidacy paperwork, he lives in Rome – yes,
Rome, Italy.

The Secretary of State’s Office will continue to collect paperwork from presidential candidates until 5 p.m., Dec. 17. State officials will draw lots for the order in which the names appear on the ballot at 10 a.m., Dec. 18.

John McCain (left) and Jon and Caryll Kyl

One of the recurring storylines about Sen. Jon Kyl’s election today to the No. 2 leadership position among Senate Republicans is that the high-profile post will enable him to out from Sen. John McCain’s political shadow.

Kyl understands the theme. He just doesn’t agree with it. Kyl told me during an interview in his
Phoenix office last week that he and McCain always have had similar conservative political ideologies, but at the same time, they’ve always approached their jobs differently.

“Well, you know, media loves … ” he said before pausing for a few seconds, perhaps long enough to tamper what might have been a harsh indictment of the media to a member of the media. Then he started anew. “First of all, you have to report on the contest. Who’s ahead and who’s behind the event? Whose fault was it? Who do we blame? When you’ve got two senators: Who’s in the shadows? Who’s the lead dog?”

Exactly. All that begs the question: Who’s in whose shadow now? Is the Senate’s assistant minority leader in the shadow of the presidential candidate, or is the presidential candidate in the shadow of the Senate’s assistant minority leader?

Kyl said this about McCain, “He’s the senior senator. He’s been there longer than I have. He’s nationally known – far better than I am. He has a unique background that nobody else has. There’s no way I can be like John McCain. I mean, he’s a war hero. He’s a maverick. He’s all of those things we associate with him. He was trained as a fighter pilot. And I say this with humor – if you report what I’m saying – what they used to say about Barry Goldwater was ‘Ready! Shoot! Aim!’ In some senses, a fighter pilot has to be really quick on the trigger or you get shot down. Well, John is somebody that has great instincts. He is trained to make quick decisions, go with his decision, lead people. You see all those qualities in him.”

Kyl said this about himself, “My training, I’m a lawyer. I think things through very carefully. Read the law books before you give an answer. Your first answer may not be right. There’s a lot more nuance and sort of a conservative approach to decision making and to getting things done. You have a tendency to read everything, to cross the T’s and to dot the I’s. Two totally different backgrounds. So would John McCain be comfortable trying to put together the water settlement? He’d be the first to say, ‘No. Let Kyl do that. He’s the lawyer who’s willing to read all that stuff and go through it all.’ So I do that. Well, it’s important for Arizona, but no more important that the stuff that John does.”

Which gets up back to the original question: Who’s in whose shadow?

Kyl resonded, “We each have our different styles. We each have our different responsibilities. And the good part of it is, instead of both of us trying to do the same thing, we’re able to compliment each other. He does some things well. I do some things well. So, Arizona gets two very different people, still, I think, quite representative of the general population of the state, working for the best of the state and the country.”

While all of that insight is certainly detailed and nuanced, it does not exactly answer the question. Hmm…. Perhaps only The Shadow knows.

For more on Kyl and his new responsiblities in the Senate, check out this excellent Q&A from U.S. News & World Report: http://www.usnews.com/articles/news/politics/2007/12/06/qa-with-new-senate-minority-whip-jon-kyl.html

Also, I would be negligent not to call attention to the third sentence in the U.S. News piece: “Kyl, a staunch conservative who is often overshadowed by fellow Arizona Sen. John McCain, will now be more visible.”

Matt Salmon

Former U.S. representative and soon-to-be former Arizona resident Matt Salmon told me Tuesday that two highlights of his time in public office were passage of a federal law that prompted states to enforce life sentences against murderers, rapists and child molesters; and his work to free an imprisoned scholar in China.

That story can be accessed here: http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/103378

Interestingly, the low point of his political career came years after he left public office, when law enforcement officials arrested a number of former colleagues public corruption and related crimes.

Salmon said, “The one that broke me up the most, because I had looked up so much to him, was when I heard on the radio that Duke Cunningham had been indicted on bribery and many other things. I actually had to pull off my car to the side of the road, because I couldn’t see through the tears. It was a very, very hard thing for me.”

He said, “I always try to look for the best in people, and when I saw some of my colleagues engaged in those kinds of activities, especially people that I thought stood for a lot more, that was just a very, very sad thing for me, very, very disillusioning.”

Cunningham, a Republican representative from California, admitted in November 2005 that he accepted $2.4 million in bribes from defense contractors. In exchange, he used his influence to guide federal contracts to to contractors. Cunningham was sentenced to more than eight years in prison. Hearing the news that Cunningham had been arrested, Salmon said, was more difficult than losing the governor’s race to Democrat opponent Janet Napolitano in 2002.

Salmon said, “I worked my guts out, but I think in retrospect, I think she probably did me a big favor. I thing for a conservative Republican, honestly, in this state, I don’t think I would have been given nearly as many passes, as many do-overs.”

He said, “I just think it would have been really tough for me, because in tough budget times, my response would to dramatically cut spending and to get our priorities back in order that way. Obviously, that’s really painful, and I think, honestly, the press would have been a lot less forgiving to me than they have been to the current governor, so she probably did me a big favor.”

On a personal note, I’ll miss Salmon. His political career and my journalism career were intertwined in a small, but significant way. Back in 1994 when Salmon was running for Congress the first time, I worked as reporter at the weekly Phoenix Business Journal. The Tempe Chamber of Commerce planned to hold a candidate’s forum and a Chamber executive invited me to be on a panel to quiz the candidates on business-related topics.

I met Salmon for the first time that night at the forum. He was friendly and polite, just like every other time I have bumped into him during the years since. I also made another contact that night, a contact that led to an interview for an open position at the East Valley Tribune. About a week after Salmon took his new job in the U.S. House, I took a new job at the Tribune.

Although I always took a particular interest in the career of the guy I interviewed in front of an audience that night, I never covered Salmon much. While he was in Congress, I was on the business beat. Then about the same time he left Congress and moved into the business sector, I switched to the political beat. During that whole time, I might have spoken to him a couple of dozen times. Alas…

Forget any legislation or foreign affairs coup, in my book, Salmon distinguished himself with his honestly, thoughtfulness, good humor and gentlemanly demeanor — in any and all circumstances. Arizona would benefit from more people like Salmon, not fewer.