Nov 2, 2006 2:36 pm US/Central
Dutcher Stumped By Reporter's Ethanol Question
St. Peter, Minn. (AP) ―
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Democrat Judi Dutcher pleaded ignorance when a reporter from KSAX-TV in Alexandria asked her about E-85. (File)
CBS
You can bet Judi Dutcher knows all about ethanol now.
Dutcher, Mike Hatch's running mate in a tight race for governor, handed Democrats the kind of self-inflicted wound that John Kerry might understand when she admitted that she'd never heard of an ethanol fuel blend called E-85.
"It's like you've asked me the college quiz bowl question," Dutcher told a TV reporter this week in Alexandria. "What is E-85?"
Everyone in farm country knows the answer: a blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline. Farmers around the Midwest are betting that demand for petroleum alternatives will boost corn prices, and questions about ethanol subsidies are often the first thing politicians hear on rural stops. So Dutcher's gaffe -- which hit the airwaves late Wednesday -- was the topic of the day Thursday in the slugfest between Hatch and GOP Gov. Tim Pawlenty.
Pawlenty, who has promoted ethanol during his administration and his campaign, questioned Dutcher's qualification for office.
"The campaign really is a job interview, and she has shown she that she's unaware of one of the most important issues and economic tools for all of Greater Minnesota. And that's E-85 ethanol," Pawlenty said.
"He's not running against Judi Dutcher, he's running against me," Hatch retorted. "He ought to focus on me." And he assured voters that he knows plenty about ethanol: "I know a hell of a lot more about ethanol than Gov. Pawlenty could ever dream to."
Still, Hatch found the issue overwhelming his day. He was on a bus tour of southern Minnesota with plans to speak about health care, education and property taxes, but he found himself mostly answering questions about Dutcher and E-85.
In Mankato, where he gave a speech at Minnesota State University, College Republicans stood outside holding ears of corn and a sign that read: "Trick question: What's E-85?"
Dutcher didn't attend that event, though fliers listed both her and Hatch as scheduled to appear. Later in the day, she joined Hatch in Austin and chalked up her remark to a long day on the trail.
"It's one of those times when your brain doesn't kick it into gear," she said. "I'm sorry it's become a political issue now."
She said she had talked with several friends "in the farming community" who didn't think her comment was a big deal.
"Ever talk about a mountain out of a molehill? This is it," Dutcher said.
Political scientists said they doubted Dutcher's mistake would have a big impact on the race.
"If she had made some kind of a hateful or really insensitive remark, it could have had some effect," said Joseph Kunkel, a professor of political science at Minnesota State University, Mankato. "But basically, nobody knows who the lieutenant governor candidates are, and nobody really cares."
Later Thursday, both Pawlenty and Hatch planned stops in Rochester, a onetime GOP stronghold that has shown increasing potential for Democrats. They upset two GOP state lawmakers there two years ago.
(© 2006 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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