Imagine if you’ve been gone from your family fighting the war in Iraq. Your plane touches down back in Big Sky Country. You are finally home! Your family and hundreds of friends have turned out to greet you. You sit there on the tarmac. You wait and wait.

Was the wait to clear Customs? No. Was the wait for luggage? No.

They were made to wait for the Governor, according to this story in the Great Falls Tribune today:

After the Boeing 757 touched down on Gore Hill, it sat on the tarmac for several minutes to allow time for Gov. Brian Schweitzer’s plane to land behind it. As several hundred family members waited, Schweitzer rushed to the receiving line to join Adjutant General Randy Mosley and Brig. Gen. John del Toro in welcoming the troops home.

Yes, it’s an election year, and it appears since the Governor found out he can’t do Public Service Announcements (PSAs) after filing for reelection, he won’t miss the opportunity to get his photo in the paper and/or on the TV news – even if it means keeping our troops from seeing their families as soon as they arrive home.

Maybe the Governor should do a few weeks of boot camp, and then he would understand a little more about the importance of being on time. Shameful.