Rapid response is one of the maxims of modern political warfare.

Political operatives are trained never to let the opposition do anything or say anything without risking an immediate barrage of criticism.

The pattern is familiar to television viewers who watch major speeches, such as the President's State of the Nation address Tuesday night. Immediately, all such speeches are followed by formal rebuttal from the other political party. Sometimes these rebuttals give the viewer a wider perspective of the issues at hand, and sometimes they just seem argumentative.

What the viewer does not see, but what the press cannot escape, is the army of political operatives, called "spin-meisters" who immediately deluge the email channels and the phone lines to radio and TV stations, newspapers, columnists and commentators—all trying to promote their own views and disparage the views of the opposition.

Rapid response has been a part of Vermont politics for about a half-dozen years. Both political parties have deluged editors around the state with instant comments, sometimes substantive, sometimes just picky or downright mean-spirited. The emails reached a crescendo during the last political campaign, in which many candidates were quick to jump on the utterances of the others and vice-versa until this editor, at least, simply decided not to read them.

The same phenomenon occurred after Gov. Douglas' State of the State speech, but in moderation. Democratic party operatives, joined by media flaks from environmental organizations, sent out strenuous protests intended perhaps to set the record straight or perhaps just to undermine the governor's credibility.

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After the governor's big budget speech Tuesday, however, the most amazing thing happened. Into The Herald's email in-box came a rapid response from one of the state's most prominent Democrats—but this time frankly and repeatedly praising the Republican governor's budget proposals.

"While it always is important to look under the hood before buying the car, it seems to me the governor has presented the legislature with a pretty decent vehicle to begin the budget process," said Jeb Spaulding, the longtime senator from Washington County who now is the state treasurer.

"I applaud the overall spending parameters set by the Governor," he continued. "We simply can not sustain the 7% spending increases of the past few years, especially with revenue growth slowing. So, I fully support the Governor’s call for spending restraint and agree with his proposal to reduce legislative spending earmarks and to instead start a capital reserve fund for large projects, like a new state hospital."

Spaulding also gave Douglas "a lot of credit" for recommending full funding for the Vermont Teachers’ retirement plan.

Jeb Spaulding is one Democratic officeholder who consistently has held himself above the fray of partisan wrangling, and this week's message was generous, without a sign of a barbed hook. In our eyes it enhances his standing as a deserving and likely candidate for governor himself someday.