Gov. John Baldacci, like many, many politicians, has a reputation for perpetually running late.

The reputation is well-deserved.

More than one rubber-chicken chamber dinner has gotten cold waiting for a keynote address from the governor, whose schedule is usually packed and has little built-in cushion.

On July 5, en route to an editorial board meeting with the Sun Journal, the governor’s campaign aide called ahead.

Instead of the usual, “I’m sorry but the governor’s running a few minutes late,” the message was, “The governor’s going to be on time.”

He wasn’t. But the message threw the staff off a little. Baldacci clocked in about 10 minutes after the supposed 3 p.m. start.

He’s still racing with his reputation and the clock.

Most improved

State Rep. Darlene Curley, R-Scarborough, was singled out last week by the Maine League of Conservation Voters in its annual scorecard of state lawmakers.

Curley, who’s running for Congress in the 1st District, was cited as posting the most improvement on her score, which was based on 13 pieces of legislation.

But the honor also carries some baggage. Curley won the distinction of most improved for increasing her score to 67 percent for the 2005-06 legislative session.

Her score for 2003-04? Just 7 percent.

Ambulance tour

Pat LaMarche, the Green independent candidate for governor, will be touring the state in a van made up to look something like an ambulance.

No, she’s not trying to attract attention from a particular type of legal professional.

She’s using the vehicular gimmick to draw attention to her ideas on health care.

LaMarche has picked up one idea from a 1995 Healthcare Reform Commission: The state needs to build its own health care professionals.

“It is my goal that by the time the students entering their freshman year in college this September attend their graduation ceremonies, they will have the option of attending an allopathic medical school, or dental school, or a pharmacy school right here in Maine,” LaMarche said.

Allopathic? Maybe she should add dictionary school to the list.

Webster says allopathy is the “treatment of disease by remedies that produce effects different from or opposite to those produced by the disease.” Oh.

Also: “loosely applied to the general practice of medicine today, but in a strict usage opposed to homeopathy.” Ah.

The University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine in Biddeford is the state’s only medical school.

Web redesign

Independent gubernatorial candidate Barbara Merrill has been frozen in virtual time – on the Web.

Merrill’s Web site has been static. It hasn’t been updated since she began her race for the Blaine House back in the winter. As recently as Friday, if you clicked on the link for “upcoming events,” you’d get this: “As the Legislature is still in session, Barbara will be spending the majority of her days serving her constituents in Augusta. Evening events such as house parties and book signings are being scheduled, some on short notice …”

The Legislature adjourned late in May.

According to Merrill, a new design could be coming as soon as today.

Let’s see: barbaramerrill.com.

Speaking truth to power

Knowlegis, a lobbying outfit in Washington, has put out a “Power Ranking” for every member of Congress on its Web site, www.congress.org.

The Maine Republican Party issued a press release last week, dialing in on U.S. Rep. Tom Allen’s poor showing.

State Rep. Darlene Curley, R-Scarborough, is running against Allen in Maine’s 1st District.

Allen was ranked as the 359th most powerful member of the House, which led Maine Republican Party State Chairman Mark Ellis to say: “The Knowlegis ranking is proof positive that, even after 10 years in Congress, Tom Allen continues to be an ineffective voice for Maine and an unremarkable congressman.”

Hold the phone, though.

U.S. Rep. Mike Michaud, also a Democrat, was ranked 405th.

Both he and Allen were penalized because they are members of the minority party and don’t have a lot of committee seniority.

U.S. Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins were ranked in the middle of the Senate pack, at 50 and 52, respectively.

Not surprisingly, Knowlegis researchers had Republican and Democratic party leaders in the House and Senate at the top of their power rankings.

What’s it all mean? Remarkably little. Capitol Hill is awash in such lists, power rankings and influence charts. Every listing is part alchemy, part science and part entertainment and is mostly about getting attention for the rankers, not the ranked.

For example, U.S. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, who represents Washington, D.C., was ranked at 288th in the House. She doesn’t even get to vote on the floor, and she’s a Democrat, too.

In April, Time magazine named Snowe one of the country’s 10 best U.S. Senators, saying “Snowe is in the center of every policy debate in Washington.” That sounds like power.

And Collins is the chairwoman of the important and highly visible Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. She comes in at 52?

Knowlegis acknowledges the shortcomings of its rankings, saying that there are many things that contribute to the power of a member of Congress that are tough to measure, including their ability to bring home federal funding and to help constituents.

Take it for what it’s worth: Mid-summer fun for inside-the-Beltway types and C-Span watchers.

Boiled alive

The Maine Democratic Party is holding its 2nd annual Muskie Lobster Festival on July 22 in Brunswick.

Does Whole Foods Market know?

The high-end grocery store chain decided in June that it would no longer sell live lobsters because they receive rough treatment during shipment from boat to boutique.

To deny lobsters’ place in Maine popular lore, to cut the crustaceans a break by having the annual Muskie potato bake, that’d be worse than being boiled alive, at least for a politico dependent upon the popular vote for a job.