NY? VT? Home State? Oh my!

Interesting background story on the history of Vermont, New York, home states and the Presidency. It's interesting to note that the writer seems to implicitly assume that Dean is at the very least the nominee -- you can infer what you will from the rest:

MONTPELIER, Vt. -- Calvin Coolidge was born in Vermont and is buried in Vermont. His political career, though, was spent in Massachusetts. So which state gets to claim him?

Chester Arthur was born in Vermont, but his political career was built in New York. Which state gets to claim him? "There is no rule," says Sheldon Stern, the former historian at the John F. Kennedy Library in Massachusetts. "It depends on so many factors."

The issue arises now with the presidential campaign of Howard Dean, who was born in New York, grew up in New York, went to medical school in New York, but moved to Vermont where he made his political career.

Dean, who turns 55 this month, has spent roughly 25 years in New York and 30 years in Vermont. National political reporters aren't quite sure how to refer to him: They all call him a former governor of Vermont, but several profiles label him a New Yorker. [...]

John Dumville, who oversees Vermont's state-owned historic sites, including the Coolidge Homestead in Plymouth, says he doesn't think the Coolidge case is that clear cut. "Coolidge grew up in Vermont, but went to college in Massachusetts, had his political career there and he retired to Northampton after the presidency. When he left the White House his papers went to Massachusetts and he died there."

But, said Dumville, "Vermont loves him. We claim him. Massachusetts didn't put much effort into claiming him." And that perhaps might be what plays the greater role in determining which president is aligned with which state. It is the public perception. Coolidge was sworn in as president - after Harding's death - at his family homestead in Vermont, searing into the national consciousness the image of him as a Vermonter. [...]

As for Howard Dean, Stern says it is unclear which state would get to claim him should he make it all the way to the presidency. "We'd have to see - there are so many questions still to answered - where would his presidential papers go, where would his library be, where would he be buried? "

And even then, he adds, "There is no right answer."

But such questions we will face, Dean Nationals -- Howard Dean is going to be the next President of the United States.