Anjeanette, Come Back! Please!

As many of you know the Reno Gazette-Journal's Anjeanette Damon has taken a leave of absence from reporting in order to get a master in public administration from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Since then she has shared her blog Inside Nevada Politics with Ray Hagar, who is also now doing most of the political reporting for the RGJ.

I have so far refrained from commenting on Mr. Hagar. However that is no longer possible. Today, thanks to Ray Hagar, Inside Nevada Politics has hit an unfortunate, unnecessary all-time low:

Hey Jack Carter, don't look like a Rube

Maybe I’m alone on this but... what’s up with U.S. Senate candidate Jack Carter, D-Las Vegas peanut warehouse?

When I see him on a TV commercial or the set of Nevada Newsmakers, he’s wearing a sport coat and a pair of jeans. He’s running for the U.S. Senate and if elected, he would be representing all of us. Can’t he afford some slacks?

Hey Jack, Nevada is not Rube central. Don’t embarrass our state with those jeans. You're the son of a President. You don’t have to be Randolph Townsend but a trip to Macy’s might be in order. The jeans and a sport coat look is cool if you are under 40. If elected, would you show up in Washington, D.C., in those jeans? Please, our state has enough image problems.

There is really only one answer to Mr. Hagar: Hey Ray Hagar, don't embarrass Anjeanette with your posts!

It's quite interesting to read some of the comments to Mr. Hagar's embarrassing post. This one by "Gus" for example:

Please don't let this site descend into snarky comments about the candidates' appearance. There's enough of that on the web already. A professional reporter has got to provide us with information we need about the candidates qualifications, positions, and potential to win.

Gus has it right. And, you gotta wonder how someone so unprofessional as Mr. Hagar has the audacity to call out Jack Carter. What a joke. JWH from Say NO to Jim and Dawn Gibbons has this to say to Mr. Hagar:

I've seen Jack on the campaign trail several times in rural Nevada and he actually dresses and looks like a Rural Nevadan. I know not a single person in Lyon County for instance that wears a suit walking around all Hollywood and shiny like John Ensign.

I applaud Jack Carter for keeping it real.

So, Mr. Hagar, what's it gonna be? Appearance or character? Appearance or qualifications? If all you want in a Senator is hair-do, then we probably all know who you'll be voting for this fall.

Finally, "Skadi" from the blog And, yes, I DO take it personally hits it right on the spot:

Could we please get Anjeanette back?

Yeah, could we? Please? Anjeanette, come back to us! At least claim your blog back. You can blog from Cambridge. You've proven with your posts in the last couple of weeks that it's doable. And we certainly can all do without the embarrassing posts of Mr. Hagar!