The Green Mountains

I've always thought that Vermont was a wonderful state; underpopulated and under-appreciated. No wonder that the von Trapp family settled there after fleeing Nazi occupation during World War II, and no wonder that a couple of local hippies named Ben and Jerry were able to parlay their granola attitudes into an ice cream fortune in Vermont.

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I've managed to catch a few news shows out of Burlington during my time here in Montreal, and naturally the commercial breaks are peppered with political ads. What's remarkable about that? The total absence of negativity. Only one ad even dared decry the failures of the Bush administration, but not one single ad - not one - even mentioned an opposing candidate by name, much less sling mud at anyone. That should tell us something - that if this kind of political decency can work in Vermont, then it should be able to work anywhere in the USA. And that idea is as exhilarating as any of the fresh air that I've ever breathed up here in the Green Mountains.