Maine's power set

I found an interesting list over at politickerme.com of Maine's 50 most powerful for 2008. While lists like these will always be subjective, and while I might quibble with many of the choices, I think there were some interesting selections.

Any list of Maine's movers and shakers has to have the Cianbro Corporations's Peter Vigue (#6). For private sector leaders, he would be at the top of my list.

I was glad to see former governor, Angus King (#3), on the list. From the list's synopsis, "King has laid low over the past few years since leaving office, but that is changing. With his usual brilliant timing, the former governor is on a crusade to bring wind power to Maine where he serves as a principal of Independence Wind. He serves on numerous boards, has friend in high places and is one of the first folks aspiring politicians call."

Arguably, King was one of the state's better leaders, and unlike the current governor, attempted to move the state forward, not back to the neolithic era.

Of course, there will always be those names that elicit the reaction of "who?" from readers glancing at their name/profile. All told, I knew most of the 50.

Columnist Al Diamon (#43) made the list, which was a good choice, although at 43, five places below right-wing loonie, Mike Heath (#38), I thought he could have been a bit higher.

Diamon's been at it for a long time, and arguably, there are few in the state that grasp Maine's political world like Diamon. You can find his columns in several media outlets. He also has the Media Mutt column on the Down East website. One of his recent columns of Maine's media is a worthy rendering of the past year's bloodletting at many of the state's newspapers, and how it affects the news that Mainers receive. His take is accurate, in my opinion, about the demise of many media organs in the state.

In my book, Diamon is must-reading for anyone that still cares about politics and media, in Maine.

Speaking of the media, several other reporters/editors made the list, including Mal Leary (#27), whose been covering the statehouse since the building went up. Scott Fish (#41), the editor of the busy conservative web forum, As Maine Goes, also ended up on the list.

Agree, or disagree, lists like these are always fun, and worthy of some consideration.