Russ Carnahan Has To Swim Now

The gossip column in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports:

The "issue" of incumbent Democratic Congressman Russ Carnahan's part ownership of a 40-year-old boat should have become even less of an issue when the boat was sold last month and the congressman got a whopping $2,875 for his share.

The whole little nugget of course tut-tuts Ed Martin for making a big deal about it and quotes at length the Carnahan position on the boat:

 …according to Angela
Barranco, a spokeswoman for the Carnahan campaign. She
said it had been for sale for nearly two years.

Martin also has fumed over Carnahan not having registered the
boat, "Attractive Nuisance" with the U.S. Coast Guard. But the
boat, a 40-year-old cabin cruiser, had not been operable for more
than a year, Barranco said. As a result, it did not qualify for
federal registration. The repaired the engines and registered it in
April.

She also said the boat was moored in Alton because it was the
closest spot to St. Louis where they could dock a pleasure boat.
Both families live in St. Louis. The choice of Alton had nothing to
do with an attempt to avoid paying personal property taxes,
Barranco said.

The story's out, in the gossip column instead of in whatever passes for hard news in the St. Louis paper of record, but I have a couple questions:

• Who bought the boat?  Was it someone supporting the Carnahan campaign who wanted to nullify the issue?
• The boat has been for sale for two years, and it just happens to sell now while the economy still limps and toward the end of the summer?  Isn't that convenient?
• Carnahan and company sold the boat for $11,500.  Is this a net gain or net loss?  How much?  If they made money on it, how did that happen?  If they lost money on it, how much was it worth to Carnahan to have this albatross from around his neck?
• Did these St. Louis public officials sell the boat in Missouri or in Illinois?  Who gets the sales taxes?

I am not a real journalist, and these are the questions that popped into my mind immediately.  I'm sure people with better noses for news will run with these questions (as they will occur to anyone but professionals in St. Louis).  But jeez, guys at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, improve your pretending.