Leaving the Gloves On

Andrew Halcro and Tony Knowles apparently went easy on each other before BP employees yesterday:

When all three candidates are in front of a big audience, they tend to knock one another around. Monday, without Palin in the mix, Knowles and Halcro mostly kept their gloves on, so much so that at one point a woman in the audience asked just what the difference was between the two.

In response, Halcro talked about the state needing a governor with fire in his belly, his voice rising. Afterward, Knowles cracked a joke:

"Look what you've done. We were getting along just fine," said the former two-term governor, who talked about his record and argued that he's primed to tackle a gas pipeline project.

This follows Sunday night's KTUU debate when I thought Halcro and Knowles pulled their punches on each other a few times. Knowles, in particular, was quite complimentary of Halcro at one point and that surprised me.

I'm probably reading the dynamics of this race wrong... but presuming I'm not, I think there are two explanations for this.

The first is that Halcro and Knowles rightly see Palin as the biggest threat and are training all their fire on here.

The second is that Knowles wants to offer Halcro a job (great bipartisan, consensus-building move) and Halcro knows he's lost and wants a job, any job. The ADN has already recommended that Halcro get a job in the next administration and I doubt Sarah Palin, who apparently has a history of what might be called cronyism from her days in Wasilla, would be the one to do that. But I think Knowles could rise to the level of recognizing talent offering a job to defeated - but superior - rival.

What cabinet post would Halcro best fill?