NY23 UPDATE: Hoffman interview with Watertown (N.Y.) Daily Times

My exclusive about this morning's event with Dick Armey and Doug Hoffman was filed from the offices of the Watertown (N.Y.) Daily Times, with the help of their political reporter Jude Seymour. My new buddy Jude now reports:

We just had a wacky hour at the Watertown Daily Times.
Blogger Robert Stacy McCain, who is following Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman around today, banged out a story at my desk while I was inside the publisher's office watching the fireworks.
John B. Johnson Jr. was clear in this morning's editorial in our paper: The issues germane to the 23rd Congressional District are not being talked about because that discourse is getting drowned out by the cacophony from special interest groups outside the district.
Mr. Hoffman, it appeared, had not taken the time to read the local opinion page before visiting.
When asked about the rooftop highway that could connect Watertown to Plattsburgh, Mr. Hoffman said he was "open to reviewing and studying it."
When asked about winter navigation on the St. Lawrence Seaway, he took no position. When asked about widening and deeping the Seaway, he again said nothing.
The atmosphere was tense, at times. . . .

Ruh-roh. Read the whole thing. I've got the print edition of the Daily Times here with me (I'm now back at my hotel in Syracuse after a 140-mile road trip to Watertown) and the editorial is interesting:

Endorsements come from afar. Fundraisers are held outside the district. National party committees comment daily on the race. National debates on social issues and partisan concerns get rehashed here to the exclusion of questions specific to voters in the 23rd district. . . .

Read all of that, too. All politics is local and so is some of the world's best journalism. It was nice to talk to Jude and some of the other staffers at the Daily Times. Jude is a smart guy, sharp enough to spot me trying to swipe a souvenir coffee mug. (Darn it.)

When I was a small-town journalist in Georgia and a local story would make national news, I hated the way the big national media would come bigfooting into town, treating local reporters like we were bush-leaguers. So when I go out on the road to do reporting, I like to start out by meeting with local reporters, who deserve to be respected for their hard work and knowledge of facts that we outsiders often overlook.

There is a 2:30 p.m. Hoffman event here in Syracuse, so I have to hurry if I'm going to grab some lunch between now and then. Thanks a million to Jimmie Bise for helping out while I'm on the road, taking call-in reports like the one this morning while I was flying south on I-81 coming back from Watertown.

No confirmation yet on Jim Geraghty's Sarah Palin endorsement rumor. We'll see. One thing that I can confirm: David Frum is clueless. But that's not really news, is it?

Our complete NY23 blog coverage here.

UPDATE: Moe Lane at Red State links up with more links.