| Matt Blunt set aside a promising Navy career to pursue his family's political trade. Now, the Navy Reserve officer has charted a course to the Missouri governor's mansion, downing Democratic State Auditor Claire McCaskill on Tuesday to become Missouri's second-youngest elected governor. The victory for Blunt, just shy of his 34th birthday, comes a mere six years after he left active duty to run for the Missouri Legislature and just four years after his election as secretary of state. In November 2000, Blunt was the only Republican besides Bush to win a statewide vote. "Throughout my life, I've been very mission-oriented, objective-oriented," says Blunt, who wakes every day around 5 a.m., runs 6-8 miles, reads his Bible, then works virtually all day long, all the while limiting his sweets. |