WITH MARYLAND electing a Republican governor for the first time since 1966, have the Free State's presidential leanings changed?

The last Republican presidential candidate to carry Maryland was George Bush in 1988. Bill Clinton won here twice, as did Al Gore in 2000 - the latter by a margin wide enough to almost dissuade Rep. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. from jumping into the race for governor.

But Ehrlich took the plunge and won. So has the state now positioned itself as a major factor in the next election cycle? Is Maryland "in play?" Will Bush campaign here heavily when he runs for re-election in 2004?

Don't count on it, said Haley Barbour, former head of the Republican National Committee, during an interview at the Republican Governors Association in California last week.

"When Republican candidates carry Maryland, they carry 40-something states," Barbour said. "If we carry Maryland, we're going to have a lot of [electoral] votes to spare."

Ehrlich election analysis leans toward the green

The nation's governors tend to be a wonkish bunch. Their states have become laboratories for new government ideas. They must be conversant in things such as Medicaid reimbursement rates and "unfunded mandates" from Washington.

So even as they digested election results in California last week, Republican governors remained analytical.

A shaky economy played to their strengths, said Gov. John G. Rowland of Connecticut, with voters opting for fiscal responsibility. Gov.-elect Bob Riley of Alabama said President Bush deserved kudos for putting his political capital on the line with a vigorous campaign tour.

Perhaps because he has yet to dive into a budget or fulfill an edict from Washington, Ehrlich sounded a bit less nuanced than his peers.

Asked during a news media session to explain the issues that led to a GOP win in Maryland, Ehrlich was seeing green.

"The money really helps," said the politician who raised almost $11 million to defeat Democrat Kathleen Kennedy Townsend. "That allows us to play."

Ehrlich then shook the hands of former New York City Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani - who came to Maryland for a fund-raiser on the campaign's last weekend - and Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.

Ehrlich asked Bush to pass similar good wishes on to his brother, who raised $1.8 million for the Maryland GOP campaign.

"Thank the big guy," Ehrlich said.

Campaign generals have a civil first meeting

They spent months locked in battle. But it wasn't until last week that the lead strategists of Maryland's gubernatorial campaigns had their first-ever meeting.

After Gov. Parris N. Glendening announced his budget-cutting plans at a State House news conference, Ehrlich campaign manager James C. "Chip" DiPaula went over to Karen White of Townsend's campaign and introduced himself.

What did they discuss during their five-minute conversation?

"Nothing exciting," White said. "Family, things like that."

"Look, there were no sparks," DiPaula said with a laugh.

Despite map challenge, he is still down in front

Perhaps Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller isn't big on retribution after all.

For the first time since the election, the state's new and returning Democratic senators gathered in their State House chambers last week to select a leader for the 2003 session. Miller was picked for the 17th straight year.

But as they were wandering in, senators were unsure of where to sit. After all, notable veterans would no longer occupy coveted front-row seats. The majority leader, Sen. Clarence W. Blount of Baltimore, had retired. The chairman of the Judicial Proceedings Committee, Sen. Walter M. Baker of Cecil County, had been defeated.

But still present was Sen. Norman R. Stone Jr., the longest-serving senator, who a year ago looked to be another casualty.

Stone's district was eliminated by a redistricting map endorsed by Miller. The Dundalk senator then tossed protocol aside by suing Glendening to have the map overturned. A court-drawn replacement map restored his district, and Stone's bid for re-election went unchallenged.

Still, he wondered if he would be punished for his actions.

"Where am I sitting?" whispered Stone in Miller's ear last week, unsure if his up-front seat would be reassigned.

"The front row," replied Miller.

Stone smiled. "Thank you," he said.

Driving home a point leads to age-old gaffe

Now that he is a committee chairman, state Sen. Ulysses Currie of Prince George's County may need to brush up on his oratorical tact.

The new head of the Budget and Taxation Committee botched an effort last week to nominate Sen. Ida G. Ruben of Montgomery County to serve as Senate president pro tem, the No. 2 position in the chamber.

Currie compared Ruben to an old Cadillac - the car she drives, and one that she sometimes refers to during budget hearings when agency heads are looking for money for new vehicles.

"She would say, 'I have 400,000 miles on my Cadillac, and I'm not ready to turn it in,'" Currie said. The Cadillac story is a metaphor for Ruben's tenure, he continued.

"She has many miles," Currie said, as his assembled colleagues groaned and tittered. "She is not ready to turn in her vehicle."

Note to Currie: References to a woman's age are best left out of speeches on the Senate floor.