A fascinating editorial this morning about Republican Matt Doheny's campaign against Rep. Bill Owens, D-Plattsburgh.

The editorial all but endorses Mr. Doheny, but says he needs to do a better job defending his home turf — our readership area — which he's losing, 60-32, to Mr. Owens, according to a poll released Monday.

"To gain ground in the race, Mr. Doheny needs to express more clearly how he is going to help the people of Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties," the editorial states. "And the Republican Party needs to articulate to the voters that the north country is best represented by someone who is from this side of the district."

No way that the Doheny campaign is pleased about the accusation that Mr. Doheny isn't paying enough attention to the west side of the district.

No way, either, that the Owens campaign is pleased about this tidbit: "Mr. Doheny has to show that he will be more responsive to their concerns about water levels and Fort Drum than has Mr. Owens, who avoided taking a position on water levels until the final lines of the congressional district were drawn. Mr. Owens also called for more study rather than an outright endorsement of potential plans to establish a missile defense base at Fort Drum."

Mr. Doheny has also taken some friendly fire from Mayor Jeff Graham, who penned one blog post with a sad-looking Mr. Doheny and said in another that Mr. Doheny's poor poll numbers might have to do with "the dogs not liking the dog food."

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