Choose wisely, Butch

ourVIEW

Risch

With Larry Craig leaving the United States Senate, Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter will decide who will serve out the remaining 16 months of Craig's term.

For Otter, it must be tempting to treat Idaho's first senatorial vacancy since 1962 as a political prize, something that can be used to reward a friend or punish an adversary.

But Idaho finds itself in a precarious position. With Craig goes not only his 17 years of seniority, but his seats on the Appropriations and Energy committees, vital to Idaho's natural resource industries and Idaho National Laboratory.

Not since the early 1990s -- when Idaho voters sent junior Republicans to a Congress dominated by Democratic lions -- has this state been so politically exposed.

Rep. Bill Sali is a freshman. Sen. Mike Crapo is a sophomore. Congressman Mike Simpson holds a House Appropriations Committee seat. But all are in the minority.

Craig's arrest in a Minneapolis airport men's room, his guilty plea and his attempt to bury it has rattled Idahoan's confidence in their elected officials.

And whoever replaces Craig enters a Capitol poised for a bitter election campaign.

So the job demands the best political brains this state has to offer, someone who can instantly command confidence, effect a transition in short order and who can quickly build political alliances with Republicans and Democrats alike.

Kempthorne

That leaves a short list of Simpson and Lt. Gov. James E. Risch.

Other names get mention.

Attorney General Lawrence Wasden has demonstrated talent and sound judgment. He's young enough to build seniority in the Senate.

But he'd be new to national politics and might well face a primary election challenge, keeping him on the political defensive for months.

Dirk Kempthorne served one term in the Senate before serving eight years as governor. Now Interior secretary, Kempthorne would make a smooth transition. Still, Kempthorne carries political baggage.

There's been talk of bringing in a former senator, governor or legislative leader to hold the job and Craig's staff together for the next 16 months while the voters decide the ultimate successor in 2008. That running doesn't seem realistic.

Simpson would bring Washington experience and accomplishment to the Senate. He's a creature of a modern Idaho political culture -- where environmentalism isn't a dirty word and Democrats are gaining ground.

But Idaho would pay an unacceptably high price because Simpson would lose his seat on House appropriations and start at the bottom of the pecking order in the Senate. In a matter of weeks, Idaho would go from two appropriation seats -- Craig's and Simpson's -- to none. We'd go from a delegation of three veterans to three freshmen -- Sali and Simpson's successor in the House and Simpson in the Senate.

Sali

Which leaves Risch.

He knows how to make a quick transition -- he was stunningly effective during his seven-month term as governor last year. As good an executive as Risch was, he made his reputation as a legislator -- leading the state Senate through much of a career that stretches back to the 1970s. Risch can be a polarizing figure and in his mid-60s, he'd be able to serve two terms at most. That parallels former Sen. Len Jordan -- also an ex-governor -- who was appointed to succeed the late Henry Dworshak in 1962 and held the office for a decade.

Risch is not a perfect choice. But he\\\'s the obvious one and probably the best option Otter -- and Idaho -- have.

Marty Trillhaase