In his second bid for governor, Eliot Cutler presents himself as a capable executive used to taking charge and confident in his agenda to create “One Maine.”

In “One Maine” everyone has the right to opportunity, although there is no “right to success.” Governors don’t create jobs, but create some vague “opportunity.” The government has that responsibility, to “build a bridge from welfare to work.” Fairly conservative. Familiar stuff.

“One Maine” is “older,” “not geographically blessed,” with “structural problems” ranging from intolerable roads to not even having “a mechanism in place for a capital budget.”

Cutler sees a Maine electorate disengaged from both major political parties. Mainers, despite party affiliation,”vote for the person,” not an ideology.

As to his splitting the vote, he strikes this deal: if supporters will stick with him until the election, and then think he cannot win, he gives his blessing to vote for another candidate that can prevail. Ideally, he believes in runoff elections to assure that the head of our state has majority support.

For Cutler, “Maine is the greatest turn around opportunity in America.” Maine has lost its agricultural base, even though it has “limitless arable land and water.” Farming, a traditional economic engine, will bring in a much needed younger population establishing deep roots.

Tax restructuring, such as reducing estate taxes, income tax and property tax, “by a lot,” will retain an elderly populace despite our winters.

Maine’s excellent, but aging, workforce is, according to Cutler, our greatest hurdle to prosperity. To attract businesses we need to provide an equally skilled younger workforce. We must provide all necessary education toward that end.

I keep hearing this popular refrain, yet it puzzles me. We continually lose our best educated young people to colleges and jobs outside the state, so the prevailing wisdom is to provide even more education, specifically technology targeted.

If we make that investment, and businesses still don’t come, aren’t we just further down the road of educating some other state’s workforce? Mr. Cutler’s response is: that he isn’t saying there isn’t risk involved.

So, let’s double down on what hasn’t worked.

Michaud’s game plan for Maine’s future is branded “Maine Made.” It too projects a strong message of competency and leadership. Most of its general recommendations are much the same as expressed by Cutler’s “One- Maine.”

Hard to figure who is emulating who, or if they are truly two very like-minded candidates. Both are promoting a coordinated approach to economic development, which is refreshing and visionary, presenting old “new” ideas for economic growth gathered compellingly together. Michaud’s are far more specific leaving the gate. Cutler’s are more loosely sketched.

Employers will be given all that they need to succeed, underwritten by public funds and public policy. Cutler speaks of rescinding Pine Tree Zones —”bad investment,” with no word on corporate welfare in Michaud’s plan, pro or con.

Both approaches are unabashedly pro-business; business welfare is public welfare.

There are a few snippets in both candidates’ play-books addressing maintaining our quality of place: that too much tourism, or development, would be a negative.

Employers provide employment, employment is good for the worker, therefore: what is good for the employer is good for the worker. What a beautiful workplace we would have if that was indeed so simple and true. It all sounds familiarly “trickle down,” so much “don’t say anything that is anti-business.”

I would like to hear much more about a real leg up for employees and not just employers.

Cutler argues that Michaud “didn’t need to run” for governor in order to have someone defeat LePage, that either Cutler or Michaud, running alone, will easily dethrone that mistake from the last election cycle.

That is to say that the primary objective of having a new governor is to depose our sitting one. And, that is likely right. Most Mainers want an end to LePage’s “leadership.” However, that view strangely, or conveniently, supposes that there is no wish, or need, for a Democrat in the Blaine House, that “Anyone But LePage” is as far-sighted as the electorate can see.

Cutler then goes on to say that besides this anti-LePage majority, there is also a very large “Anyone But Michaud” constituency of moderate to conservative Republicans that do not want Democrats to rule both the executive and legislative branches. His punch line is: “Except for Dennis Bailey, there is no ‘Anyone But Cutler’ faction.” — a good line, if one knows who Dennis Bailey is.

LePage must be turned out if Maine is to move forward, but is that all we should consider?

Maybe Cutler is right: “vote for the person,” given that two of the three paths are, at present, so similar, and the third is an embarrassment.

One alternative to LePage says: let’s take what has nearly worked, and this time do it right. The other says: Ditto. And, no one dislikes me as much as the others.

GARY ANDERSON is a resident of Bath.