New Secretary of Agriculture -- Official Soon

On Thursday, the Senate Agriculture held a hearing on President Bush's appointment of former North Dakota Gov. Edward T. Schafer for Agriculture Secretary. It can be expected that Mr. Schafer will be confirmed soon but meanwhile, we thought you might get a kick out of Senator Saxby Chamblis' comments, “Ya’ll don’t grow many of these in North Dakota,” said the ranking Republican on the Committee with a laugh as he pulled out a small bag of peanuts.

“And I hope you don’t start growing any of these in North Dakota,” Chamblis continued, his voice trailing off with a long list of crops the state already produces. As the Jamestown Sun reported the story, Mr. Chamblis was more than just a little "sarcastic" but you can judge for yourself at Humor Part of the Process.

Senate Ag Chair Tom Harkin officiated over the hearing, but Rep. Earl Pomeroy had the last laugh when he tried to emphasized Shafer's understanding of disaster assistance. "We call him the disaster governor," he said, "Not because he was a disaster, but because during those eight years, North Dakota seemed to have nothing but."

At My Rural America, we hope that disaster won't follow Mr. Schafer to Washington.