Tester's big skeleton

When Jerome and I visited Jon Tester in Big Sandy to interview him for Crashing the Gate, one of us asked him if there were any skeletons in his closet. What, we asked, could Republicans use against him in the general election. He thought about it for a moment, and then, in all seriousness, told us this (paraphrased):

"Once, when I was principal of our local high school, I sent a male student home for wearing an earring to school."

It was obviously not something he was proud of. But if this is what a Jon Tester skeleton looked like, I knew we were in good shape.  

It's stories like this that may lead the press to eventually label Tester as a sort of "rube". I've seen hints of it with stories from the DC media establishment talking about "small town farmer hits the big city"-type stories. It doesn't help that Jon is a genuine idealist in a city where cynicism is hip.

But no one has ever won by underestimating Tester. The Republicans who ran against him in one of Montana's most conservative state legislative district found that out the hard way. John Morrison in the Democratic primary found out the hard way. And Conrad Burns is probably still railing at Guatemalans, Pakistani cab drivers, and firemen as a result of his loss.  

Idealism and down-to-earth doesn't equal rube. People will underestimate Tester at their own peril.