Oh, and before I forget--hey Arizona? [View all]

[DFW]

I don't always mix the personal with the political, but when it involves friends, it becomes difficult to separate the two. I happen to know exactly 4% of the sitting governors: Maine's Janet Mills, and Arizona's Katie Hobbs. I see Janet over New Year's, and she's really fun to be around. Smart, sly, and with a wicked sense of humor. Since I'm never in Arizona, I only get to see the state's two Senators, both of whom are personal friends, in Washington. Katie Hobbs sent me a note asking if I was going to be in Dallas on April 17th, and in this case, I was. But I had little time, and she was on some business (presumably fund-raising) in Dallas. I asked if she had the time to come visit me in my head office in Dallas, and, surprisingly, she did. Her security guy called, and I put him in touch with our security guy, and we were good to go. She showed up with her two car convoy, and we had about 90 minutes (30 of them stolen) to spend. About ⅔ on personal stuff, and then the usual rest on politics. The best news, if not exactly surprising, is that she gets along with, and works well with both Mark and Rubén in the Senate. They stay in touch, and do not try to work around each other or try to steal anyone's thunder. Democratic Arizona is definitely WAY different from Republican Florida or Republican Texas. The border is always a sticky issue, although, as usual, Republicans try to make more of it than it is. Katie may come across as what can only be described as "ladylike," but she is smart and aware, just like Janet is in Maine. A true "progressive realist," if there can be such a thing. In January, I think I did a post about how Arizona could be proud of its two Senators. I got reminded that I should have extended the comment to the Governor as well. I can only WISH that Texas will some day be so fortunate!