Richard Blumenthal thoughts

I find myself unsure as to how Richard Blumenthal will perform as my new Senator.

Blumenthal has been the state Attorney General for as long as I've been aware of such an office, and I've always thought he did a great job in that role. I've often compared many of the lawsuits Blumenthal has brought as Attorney General to suits brought by the ACLU - Even when I disagree with them and think they're going too far, I'm still glad they're doing it, because it's almost always for a cause that deserves to be heard. Blumenthal would file a suit at the slightest whiff of injustice to Connecticut citizens, and I thought that kind of over-zealousness by our Attorney General served us well.

How he'll do as Senator may be another matter, though. Blumenthal, based on observing his performance as my state's AG for the past 20 years, loves the spotlight, loves to be on-camera, on-screen, the focus of attention. To steal an old joke, the most dangerous place in Connecticut is inbetween Richard Blumenthal and a news camera. Now, is this craving for media attention a means by which he seeks to forward the issues he's pursuing? Or the flipside, how much of his laudable over-zealousness as AG is just a bid to make news, to insert himself into whatever story is in the headlines this week?

My question is, between the issues and the attention-seeking, which is the means and which is the end? I'm not sure myself, I think they both happily aligned in the same direction in his role as AG. It may in fact be why he's been so reluctant to pursue other offices, turning down entreaties to run for governor in 1998, 2002, 2006, and 2010. But what happens when those two goals are no longer aligned? What happens when the best way to get exposure and screen time is to go along with whatever sell-out party leadership is selling today? Will he continue to be a strong advocate for justice, or will he be angling for a speaking slot right after Harry Reid at the press conference?

I keep waffling on which I think it'll be, it depends on whether I'm feeling particularly optimistic or particularly cynical at the moment. We won't really know until over a year from now, in any event. But it's the one thing that worries me about Blumenthal in the Senate.

Well, that, and who'll be the new AG?