Maine

The scandal involving Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich inspired me to call Maine State Historian Earle Shettleworth this week to try to dig up some long-forgotten scandal involving a Maine governor. Certainly, somewhere in the state's history, we must have had a real power-hungry governor who would make for a good historical story. Turns out, Shettleworth couldn't really come up with any. He mentioned a scandal involving the liquor commission in the 1950s and two state treasurers from way back who apparently had their hands in the till. But no former governors arrested on federal corruption charges. Or anything close. "Maine has been, throughout its history, scandal free," Shettleworth said. "We're known for a well-run, honest and clean government, really."