corrente

Showing that "spontaneity that marks a winner," and the same jes' folks appeal that allowed him to outpoll Al "Earth Tone" Gore by a negative half million votes, President Martha Stewart paid a visit to Indianapolis yesterday.

And proving how his jes folks he is, he had everyone on the rostrum remove his tie.

Exhibit A is Brian Bosma. He appeared onstage in a necktie, prior to the president's arrival. When the president got there the Indiana House minority leader had an open collar. In a News 8 interview immediately following the speech, the tie was back on.

Former state Republican chairman Mike McDaniel helped organize the event. “They wanted them to be themselves and that's what we were trying to get out of those shots and it worked for the most part,” he said.

Of course, it's possible to carry this jes' folks thing too far, so the Bush people had other instructions, like no flash cameras. Luckily, his jes' folks friends didn't need handholding:

Wilma Hart, had this to say to the White House staffer: “I said, ‘Do we look like we just crawled out from under a rock someplace?’”

No, Wilma, no one would mistake you for Dick Cheney.

No word on whether NASCAR talk was allowed.