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Nobody with any sense calls a verdict or an election. But I'll go out on a limb here: Gov. Gary Herbert will stick with that job for at least another two years.

And judging by one gubernatorial debate I attended, it's likely to be a pretty staid administration.

In late September, I attended the first meeting between Herbert and Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon. Suffice it to say it was no barn-burner — no busted chops, no metaphorical blood on the podium.

Herbert, beloved of Utah County and rural communities statewide, touted his pro-agriculture, business and economic-development posture. It's a bottom-up solution to the dismal economy, he said, that will help restore jobs and diminish the need for state and federal aid to those who rely on it now.

Corroon hit the incumbent with issues such as gloomy public-school funding, even as the system has absorbed thousands of new students this year with plenty more to come. He said corporate welfare — code for incentives to businesses who expand or move here — is robbing Utah's schoolchildren.

And he intimated that Herbert is the go-to guy for big corporations and contractors. Consider, Corroon said, the $50,000 donation from a member of the consortium that won a billion-dollar contract for a freeway restoration project.

Both sides rolled out good talking points, going so far as to say who'd lie down on a railroad track to keep depleted uranium and other radioactive trash out of the state.

But for all that, one thing was missing: Passion.

Sure, Herbert got exercised when Corroon kept after those big contributions, even as the mayor maintained an almost eerie calm.

But in the past, debates have turned unruly, even exciting. Candidates yelled at each other, wiped away sweat and pointed fingers. Ties became skewed.

It's the kind of passion that gets voters into the game. Look at the tea party, if you can bear it: wild allegations, yelling matches, placards and banners, ball caps and sensible shoes. I wouldn't move an inch to hear Glenn Beck, but he showed how to work the crowd on the Washington Mall last month.

And during the George W. Bush presidency, Utah liberals staged marches and rallies, most featuring former Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson, who liked to lead chants — remember "Give us the Truth!" (I always yearned to edit the mayor's chants for a more pleasing meter, but he never asked).

However, at least on the national front, there's an alternative to the subdued politics of Utah and the Beck (Hannity, Limbaugh, et al.) histrionics.

Later this month, Jon Stewart's Rally to Restore Sanity and Stephen Colbert's March to Keep Fear Alive will hook up on the Washington Mall. Concurrently, RestoringTruthiness.org is organizing a caravan that will leave San Diego and travel to the Jefferson Memorial, stopping at a variety of cities along the way.

Only bummer is, they won't be coming through Utah. Maybe if we raised some rabble, they would.

Peg McEntee is a columnist. Reach her at pegmcentee@sltrib.com.