Back in August, McInnis treated the GOP-minded Caplis like a hostile interrogator during an appearance on the latter's KHOW talk show, earning plenty of brickbats and guffaws from political longtimers. And when Josh Penry guested on the program after dropping out of the race for governor last month, Caplis praised him in ways that cast McInnis in a negative light by comparison.
Since then, McInnis managed to get both Penry and potential rival Tom Tancredo to climb aboard his unity platform. But will Caplis jump up, too? The short answer is "yes," although the subject doesn't actually cause him to brim with enthusiasm.
Regarding McInnis' August meltdown, Caplis says, "I have to assume that was just a bad day for Scott. I've known him before and he wasn't like that, and I've talked to him since, and he hasn't been like that. We all have bad days, so we just have to assume it was a bad day for him.
"But on policy, I much prefer Scott to Bill Ritter as governor -- so I'm looking forward to talking to Scott on policy issues. I assume he's still in the same place, so I fully expect to support him."
That said, Caplis concedes that Penry would have been his first choice as a gubernatorial candidate.
"I was definitely more inclined toward Josh," he says. "I was staying neutral in the race, but I think Josh is great."
As for the platform, it seemed to have allayed any concerns Penry and Tancredo had about McInnis, at least based on their public statements. But Caplis wants more.
"I've got to tell you, for me, it's about actions," he says. "I know that the core of the platform is the core of what most people in the party and this state stand for, so I believe in it -- and I trust that Scott's going to follow it. But at the end of the day, it's about actions. And since I expect Scott's going to win, he'll have a chance to deliver on it."
Until then, will McInnis visit the KHOW studio while Caplis and co-host Craig Silverman are behind the microphones?
"I expect he will," Caplis says. "In fact, I talked to [McInnis spokesman] Sean Duffy last week -- I bumped into him at a restaurant -- and I expect he will be on this week or next. And hopefully, Scott and the governor will be on regularly."
When McInnis does turn up again, you can bet political junkies will be listening closely to the Republican frontrunner's performance -- and Caplis'.
