General Lee, who covers politics, foreign policy and the military for this paper, said Monday that there is no vigor in the debate right now.

He meant the governor's debates. He has watched all of them, and he has a position on what a position is: something you take and hold under fire.

"I do say, sir," he remarked.

His field notes, as filed:

Three candidates. Each has told the state, in one form or another, that they are the one to lead it through the next Washington Bridge. The General has looked for the next Washington Bridge, and it may well be the water: the barrier, the culverts, the low streets when the tide comes in with a storm behind it. The independent is not taking the water seriously enough. A man who says he is ready for the next bridge and will not look at the river has disqualified himself by his own standard.

Asked whether to keep up the state's lawsuit over the old bridge, two of the three said they would review the evidence. The General has never seen a position taken by reviewing the evidence. Reviewing the evidence is how you find out where the position was.

On truck tolls, all three are opposed. On housing, the independent told the Democratic nominee, "Your plan cannot work," and she told him, "You don't have a plan." That was the high-water mark. It lasted two sentences.

The Republican nominee had under $7,300 in the bank at last filing and declines to leave the field. He has told the independent to quit. The independent calls him a spoiler. Neither has moved. Holding ground for no reason but holding it is, technically, vigor. The General does not count it.

The Democratic nominee ran the pharmacy business of a company that has just agreed to pay $315 million to settle a federal case over opioid prescriptions filled during those years. She is not named in it, and the company admits nothing. Asked how safe she is, the General said safe is not a word he uses about anyone in a field.

A neighbor of the independent's, in the town where he has lived for many years, describes him as congenial and charming, and says that in terms of action he hasn't shown up. The General has not checked this. He records it the way he records weather.

And if the right sweeps the state, the General notes, the laboratory for democratic socialism the capital has just elected will not happen, or will happen under fire.

He began the season leaning one way. He moved to the other. He has ended at no confidence in any of them.

He did not elaborate. Asked whether he had anything to add, he said he had already filed, as he does every morning at the same hour whether or not anything has happened in the night, and that this morning nothing had.

Pat, an enormous manatee and a reader of this paper, blames it on the bean counters. Asked why, Pat did not say. The Gazette has asked again and will report the answer when there is one. The bean counters have been asked for comment.

The Fant has no idea who the bean counters are. Snagger said it might have to do with actuaries. Lance disagrees, and has not said why.

Blubber Lang said Pat does not speak on behalf of the Institute, and called Pat "a sucka from up north." The Gazette was not aware that Pat had claimed to.

The General has scored engagements for this paper since its first issue. He has not yet scored this one. He said he would score it when there was something to score.