CELL PHONE COUNT....

...is back to two.

On WITF-FM this morning, Gubernatorial Candidate Tom Corbett bragged how technology - "cell phones, BlackBerries" - allows him to simultaneously prosecute members of the legislature while seeking their support for his gubernatorial campaign.

"I carry two, by the way," he said.

Let's take a magical journey through Corbett's ever-changing story about the hundreds of phone calls between his campaign staff and his taxpayer-funded state Office of Attorney General staff on state phones during state time.

In September, Corbett bragged to ABC27 News that he carries two cell phones: "He says he has a separate BlackBerry for his campaign work and one for his 'work' work. Separation of government and campaigning is big with this attorney general."

But a few weeks later, ABC27 News confronted him with cell phone bills that showed hundreds of phone calls between not only Corbett's campaign phone, but campaign workers' phones and his taxpayer-funded state OAG staff - using state phones during state time.

At that time, Corbett dodged the question of what campaign workers were discussing with state workers on state phones during state time, and defended his own calls thusly: "It's easier to keep it on one that the taxpayers are not paying for. That's the most important thing: taxpayers aren't paying for this. Either the campaign or myself are paying for this."

Why, Tom? Why is important that the taxpayers weren't paying for you to call your taxpayer-funded state office staff on their state phones during state time? Was it because you weren't discussing legitimate state business with them on their state phones during state time? Why did you have your campaign reimburse you for these phone calls if they weren't campaign-related? And, not to belabor the point, what was your campaign staff discussing with your taxpayer-funded state staff on their state phones during state time?

Then in November, when Associated Press reporter Mark Scolforo asked him at a press conference about the phone calls, he again dodged the question of what his campaign staff was discussing with his taxpayer-funded state office staff on state phones during state time. This time, though, he claimed he uses his "personal" cell phone for both state and campaign business, (and has his campaign reimburse him for what he claims is state business) and he doesn't even know the number of his state-issued cell phone.

But he must have forgotten this morning that he made that claim. It's so tough keeping his stories straight.