Murphy the Centrist

For the most part, I view visits from representatives and senators with a certain pessimism.

In general, their handlers have them on such a tight schedule that press access is limited and question-and-answer periods are short and topic-driven.

Not that I blame them -- when you represent a district like New York's 23rd, you generally have a lot of ground to cover in a short period of time.

But that was not the case when New York's 20th Congressional District Representative Scott Murphy rolled into the Tri-Lakes region Tuesday.