Yesterday’s Shumlin vs. Dubie dust up over Entergy’s Vermont Yankee future isn’t that shocking. Lt.Gov. Dubie quickly sliding toward forgiving Yankee for all its sins was almost inevitable.

What’s below the surface may be telling a story too.  

Dubie is quoted on VPR saying  

“The legislative appointed Public Oversight Committee put out a report yesterday that … said that if there's a culture of safety that management would embrace – oh absolutely, I totally agree with that – and if investments are made that, are continued to be made in VY, the legislative appointed POC saw no reason that VY couldn't operate past 2012."

(emphasis added)

One panel member noted the committee, unlike Dubie’s characterization, is a joint process between both the legislature and the Douglas administration.

Here is what Douglas’ commissioner of the Vermont Department of Public Service had to say about the group early on

"This is a process that we all agreed should happen, including the governor and the Legislature,"

 

I attended the Vermont State Senate debate on the re-licensing of Entergy’s Vermont Yankee and was particularly struck at the time by the Lt.Gov.’s apparent unfamiliarly and unease with his role as president of the senate. Several people commented that he acted unprepared, as if it was his first day on the job although he had held this position for four terms, almost eight years. That impression is part of the growing sense that Dubie is not now and never was “ready for prime time,” as apparently recognized by some in the press.  

An example on the flip.

Performing a compassionate public service intervention that a less charitable publication might not be bothered with, the Times Argus today takes time to patiently alert Brian Dubie to what should be obvious to a candidate for governor.

An election campaign is when statements such as Dubie’s inevitably come under minute parsing, with all shadings analyzed and all possible meanings teased out.

And  

Dubie can expect more close parsing of his words as the election season continues. He is not as politically shrewd and verbally agile as Gov. James Douglas, and his Democratic opponent can be expected to pick up on any effort to spin a story to his liking.

It is possible Dubie is strategically downplaying or ignoring Governor Douglas' role in the panel. However given his historic reluctance to debate and having mostly limited his campaigns to proven friendly venues (and Facebook) it is easy to picture a candidate only lately getting up to speed and cramming for his finals.