Opinion

The newest web ad from U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) includes a variety of prominent Democrats, including Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean -- all praising the presumptive Republican presidential candidate.

Barack Obama has shifted his energy strategy after the McCain campaign pounced on comments Obama made about properly inflating our tires.

Fresh fundraising numbers put both Gov. Jim Douglas and Anthony Pollina on our Winners & Losers list for the week. We're not usually this superficial, but U.S. Rep. Peter Welch's communications director Andrew Savage is a winner for being so good-looking. Find out who else made the list. | CLICK HERE

After watching McCain's new ad mocking Barack Obama as a self-important celebrity along the likes of Britney Spears and Paris Hilton, I was inspired by the last time Britney got involved with a politician in a commercial, back when the media was still in love with the straight-talk express.

In a video posted on House Speaker Gaye Symington's (D-Jericho) Facebook group today, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate asks supporters for their financial support, saying "I am asking each of you to make a contribution of a hundred dollars to carry us through the next hundred days. That is just one dollar a day."

So far so good.

Earlier in the video, Symington criticizes her opponent's record as governor by saying that "job growth in the state is the slowest in New England."

That's in reference to numbers from the Federal Reserve of Boston, which show Vermont with the 5th slowest job growth rate out of six states. It's certainly nothing to brag about, but Rhode Island is even worse off, with a negative growth rate. The economy is arguably in bad shape, so there was no need to exaggerate the claim.

It's probably safe to assume she wasn't simply ignoring the existence of the Ocean State, so we'll give Symington an "A" for her division skills, and suggest a refresher course on negative numbers.

Not that the current congressional delegation is in any serious risk of being defeated any time soon, but just how powerful is the advantage of incumbency? In Vermont -- very.

The last time an incumbent U.S. Representative from Vermont lost an election to a challenger was in 1990 when Peter Smith (R) was defeated by Bernie Sanders (I-Burlington).

On the other hand, since the state held its first direct election for U.S. Senator in 1914, no incumbent who ran for re-election has been defeated by a challenger.

We would have to go back to the era before direct elections to find an example of an incumbent senator losing re-election. That distinction goes to Nathaniel Chipman, a Federalist who served only one term from 1797 until 1803

What position currently held by Barack Obama will John McCain switch to next week?

Denise Barnard's state Senate campaign got an assist from outgoing state Sen. Jim Condos and Joshua Handverger can probably call the week a draw since he appears on both sides of this week's Winners & Losers column. Find out who else made the list and why. | CLICK HERE

The man who calls himself the "only candidate for federal office whose campaign exposes visual evidence disproving the official conspiracy theory of 9/11" is challenging U.S. Rep. Peter Welch (D-Windsor) in the Democratic primary for the state's At-Large Congressional District seat.

And if history is any indication, Welch can expect to face Montpelier resident Craig Hill again in the general election even after defeating him in the primary.

Hill ran in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in 2004 and lost to U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Middlesex) who received 94.3 percent of the vote. After losing the primary, Hill then challenged Leahy as a Green party candidate in the general election and finished fourth with 1.3 percent.

In 2006, he again ran in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate and drew just 1.3 percent against then-U.S. Rep. Bernie Sanders (I-Burlington), who received over 94 percent as a write-in candidate. Hill then ran as a Green in the general election and drew just 0.5 percent of the vote, finishing fourth.

For Bernie Sanders, persistence has paid off. With every statewide run since 1972, he was able to increase his percentage of the vote, until ultimately winning a seat in the House in 1990 and later a U.S. Senate seat in 2006.