Gov. Jim Gibbons has not put much in the bank

In the commerce of politics, the most valuable commodity, perhaps the only one is credibility. Gov. Jim Gibbons has not put much in the bank since he took office at the beginning of the year. In fact, when he gave a speech last week hyped as his foray into the mortgage-lending crisis, he already was operating at a deficit.

He had already appointed as his head of the Business and Industry Department a woman named Mendy Elliott, a former Wells Fargo employee without much standing in the political community. The appointee was seen as yet another northerner by many southern folks, and one who had few relationships in the political or business worlds here.