I submit that Michaud's high-priced payroll suggests the former (a).

Running into him on a couple of different occassions leading up to the signature deadline, I was surprised how hands-off he was. He just seemed like he was along for the ride, which leads me to believe that his "people" were behind this whole mess. And since his "people" neither believed in his campaign, nor had any real experience in the state, Michaud now is the unhappy recipient of a state police investigation.

What a reflection on Brown University. An incompetent boob - who teaches at Brown. Incredible!

Oh dear. Does this mean his run in 2010 is in jeopardy?

Michaud has learned a valuable lesson. When he first declared his canidacy, he said it was his decision alone to run and nobody put him up to it. Now when his campaign has been caught engaging in illegal activity, he blames it on his staff. Maybe we'll finally find out exactly who put Michaud up to run, as his campaign was obviously not motivated by a desire to elect Michaud.

johnb is right. He was a tool, but now he has found out that a candidate is responsible for his own campaign even if they are just a tool of someone else.

I suspect it won't be long before we find which former "party chairs" encouraged him to run and how he found his campaign "staff". Funny how criminal investigations make even irrelevant candidates talk.

I agree about the "hands off" comment. He didn't strike me as very engaged in his own campaign, which likely meant, that someone else was handling that.

Finally, something that we can all agree on. Michaud can't have it both ways. Don't exactly see those past GOP chairs lining up behind him now, though I think we basically know who they are. Redefining incompetence.

I have some knowledge of the "inside" and let it be known that the people in the campaign staff were all inept in every way. The tiny few that were competent quickly left. Scott Mc Pherson, his campaign director (from Somerset, Massachusetts) did not even know who Charlie Fogarty was when asked about him. Worst of all, Michaud had delusions of grandeur -- once told me he would run for senate "after he became governor."

If I may, just a few of my thoughts and I am no expert but have been following and getting a chuckle out of Dennis Michaud and his campaign. I'm also a volunteer for Carcieri so while I (we) would have prefered Michaud just stay the heck out of the race, I did get a kick out of it.

The couple times I talked to Michaud, he really seemed completely clueless about how to run a campaign to ANY extent. It was almost like "Is this guy joking?" Evidently nobody was coaching him at any point, from hi 1st announcement to the now ongoing investigation.

I had the feeling all along that he was put up to it and rather quickly it was 'guessed' that he was a dupe for those "higher ups" that talked him into it. I feel (just a guess on my part) that they bailed rather than getting found out and left Michaud hanging and he just muddled along with staff that were as clueless.

Speaking for myself from my observations and contrary to what a few have said here, Michaud was not even on the Carcieri campaign radar ... nothing, nada, zilch!!! Not even a blip! That might have changed but that would have been doubtful and is now history in any case.

Well, I for one got a kick out of watching the Michaud campaign to the point of almost feeling sorry for him portraying such a stooge.

This makes Matt Brown's campaign looks like it was well run...

It was interesting to hear them describe how difficult it was to collect signatures because of Don Carcieri's popularity. The usual minor inconveniences of obliviousness and ineligibility were compounded by the eventually insurmountable problem of open hostility towards the candidate they were trying to collect signatures for. This has to be one for the records and/or text books.

Dennis Michaud is a criminal just like most Republicans. This is the year that the people will take back the country from these me first villans.

Hi all! What do you think about conflict in Israel?