Lublin Out, Madaleno In

I'm getting ready to head out of town. The Department of State has kindly invited your gentle blogger to speak about the upcoming midterm elections in Slovenia and Cyprus. Slovenia is the most successful part of former Yugoslavia. Cyprus is best known in Europe as a beach destination but the island remains divided between Greek and Turkish Cypriots; its capital remains a divided city with a ceasefire line running through its heart.

Blogging about Maryland from Ljubljana or Nicosia struck me as a bit difficult. Rich Madaleno has kindly agreed to step into the breach. Rich is currently one of the three delegates representing District 18 and just won the nomination for his Senate victory. I worked on the campaign for the District 18 Democratic slate and would take full credit for his primary victory except that he was unopposed--an impressive achievement.

On a lighter note, Rich describes himself in his campaign bio as "an always devoted, currently disappointed, but ever-optimistic fan of the Washington Capitals." Not much different than being a Democrat in recent elections.