And Now A Message From Stephanie Herseth

Did you receive a newsletter today from Stephanie Herseth about biofuel?  I bet you did.  Here are some reactions.
1. This is a very wise move on her part.  The price of fuel is the second most important issue to Americans, behind only Iraq/terrorism.  The mailing is well done, touting energy independence and Herseth's self-described lead role in promoting ethanol and other biofuels. Clearly this mailing was done as a bit of campaign promotion.
2. Here's an example of incumbency advantage.  This mailing is almost indiscernible from campaign literature, except that it never says "vote for Herseth."  It is instead "constituent education."  Thus she gets the federal government to pay for what is essentially a campaign document.  This is not a criticism, just an observation.  Many incumbents do the exact same thing.  If it is "official business" they can use their congressional account to pay for it.  Because this mailing is "educational" it need not be paid for by campaign dollars. 
3. Herseth has a little survey on the mailing where you can send a postcard back to her and tell her what is the most important issue facing the nation.  You get four choices: Achieving energy independence, improving health care, improving education, and "other." It is worth noting that if you want to say "securing America against terrorism" is the most important issue facing the nation, you have to put it under the "other" category.    Does this tell us something about Herseth's priorities?  Or about ours?