New candidate handles first Republican nastiness just fine

Pat Kreitlow, the Chippewa Falls Democrat who has just announced his candidacy against State Sen. Dave Zien, R-Eau Claire, describes his first week on the campaign trail on his blog, Chippewaffles.

Kreitlow, who was a TV anchor in Eau Claire, offers an interesting take, and -- unlike most candidate blogs -- you know he's writing it himself.

Republicans are going to play nasty from the get-go, it sounds, calling Kreitlow, who's married to a physician, a "doctor's wife."

Zien, Mr. Motorcycle Man, probably doesn't have any women voting for him anyway. But that kind of tactic could guarantee it.

If it's intended to rattle Kreitlow, it didn't work. The blog entry makes it clear he takes it in stride.