Wednesday June 18, 2008
During this morning’s bill-signing event on the Capitol’s north steps, Gov. Jodi Rell again donned the cloak of reformer that has been her chief public image, even though she spent more than nine years as Johnny Johnola Rowland’s lieutenant governor.
Whatever makes state voters feel comfortable, Blog-o-rama guesses.One reporter at the event asked Rell whether she was signing for “cash discounts.” That was a jkoing riff on the bill, signed earier in the week, to allow gas stations to offer lower prices for cash.
Any reference to cash is bound to make any Connecticut pol nervous, though. Remember that $5,000 the undercover FBI agent offered now-former state Sen. Lou DeLuca?
That moment must have sent an electric charge up Sweet Lou’s spine.
Anyway, Rell the Reformer picked up on the reporter’s joke. “Don’t even MENTION cash discounts on an ethics bill,” Rell responded.
Rell is infamous among reporters for too often using the word “frankly” to punctuate nearly every public statement.
The Blogster wonders whether her handlers have tried to ween her from the term, or if it’s terminal. As a rule, Rell may be the least spontaneous governor since, maybe, Bill O’Neill.
Anyway, she was on the WTIC A.M. morning show the other day and during a 10-minute interview, Blog-o-rama noticed only TWO uses of “frankly.” That could be a personal best.