Connecticut is Number 1

Never mind NCAA basketball, I?m talking about disgraced politicians. Two big city mayors recently got hauled off to prison and now our third term gov is about to become the subject of a House impeachment inquiry.

John Rowland, a Republican, is in deep doodoo for accepting various gifts (like a hot tub) from government employees and state contractors - among other things - and for lying to the public about it. Rowland has repeatedly apologized for the lies and insists he did nobody any favors in return for the gifts. This is not easy to believe. In one reported instance, the head of a major construction firm doing business with the state personally oversaw work done on the governor?s lakefront cottage.

Federal and state investigations are underway, many in his own party have called on Rowland to resign, and now impeachment (which only requires a simple majority vote of the overwhelmingly Democratic House) is a real possibility.

I?ve always liked Rowland for one reason: The guy has maintained a relatively low media profile over the years. That?s a decent indication he hasn?t been too active meddling in our lives (notwithstanding his recent signature on a bill to ban smoking in all bars). This is in sharp contrast to do-gooder politicians like, say, Bill Bennett?s preachy pal, Sen. Joe Lieberman, and even more so to Dick Blumenthal (Lieberman?s successor as Attorney General) who will sue anybody to get in front of a camera.

The gov?s media profile is, um, a bit higher now. But this is bad press that fuels the public?s contempt for politicians who abuse power. That?s a positive thing. I just hope people save some skepticism for the next elected governor (who very well may be Dick Blumenthal) and they remember that shiny clean do-gooder politicians can abuse power as much as corrupt ones, only in different ways.

Go Huskies.