Nathan Deal's deal: Well, that didn't take long . . .

Some people worried that we shouldn't elect a governor who was under a cloud of such financial woes that he was in danger of losing his home and other major assets to pay off huge debts that would otherwise throw him into bankruptcy.

There was no need to worry about Nathan Deal's finances. We already had seen that, as a congressman, he knew how to work the system and use his influence, knew how to get friends on bank boards to lend him money when they shouldn't, and knew how to get special deals to benefit his business interests and to solve his financial problems.

According to yesterday's AJC, less than a month after Deal was sworn in as governor, his son-in-law, Clint Wilder, went to work as the Georgia Health Care Association's director of program development. Yes, the same Clint Wilder who failed to disclose a previous bankruptcy which made him ineligible for the bankruptcy he was improperly granted last year, leading the judge to reopen the case and invalidate the bankruptcy. The son-in-law's failed business led to Deal's financial embarrassment in the first place, because he had guaranteed loans for Clint and Carrie Deal Wilder's business that failed.

Jon Howell, president of the Health Care Association, praises Clint's qualifications for the job and states that they knew who his father-in-law is but that he didn't talk to the governor about the job because they wanted "to make it clear there was going to be no involvement down at the State Capitol."

Of course not; when we do backroom deals, we cover our tracks and are careful to preserve deniability.

OK, deny all you want, Mr. Howell. But the Georgia Health Care Association is a lobbying organization for nursing homes. The State of Georgia spends more than $1 billion every year paying for care of residents in nursing homes. Regulation of nursing homes is state business; paying for all this care is state business.

Although Wilder's job description does not include lobbying, it's hard to see how Governor Deal would not be very grateful to them for hiring his bankrupt son-in-law. He doesn't need to "lobby." Simply hiring him and paying him a big salary is enough to gain favor. GHCA is not disclosing Clint's salary, but a big one could help a lot -- even indirectly help Gov. Deal, since he's responsible for the business loans Wilder can't repay.

Gratitude in high places -- tell me it doesn't influence decisions. Want to argue that Wilder would have gotten the job anyway, without the known connection? Want to place bets on the chance of Gov. Deal pulling strings to influence legislation that would be opposed by the nursing home lobby?

Come on, folks. This is exactly the kind of thing we predicted -- just not quite so soon. Behind that genial demeanor, Nathan Deal is an operator par excellence.

No need to worry about his financial future.

Ralph