That Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood gave me 20 minutes of his time in March at the state attorneys general spring meeting, I felt thankful. That he refrained from insulting me, I was even more grateful.

In my previous life, I mostly interviewed high school athletes. After a few years, it was easy to pick up on which ones wanted to promote themselves, which ones were generally nice, which ones were fundamentally unfriendly and which ones just wanted to be left alone.

So if I had to classify Mr. Hood based on our conversation, I would lean to the idea that he's basically just a fairly nice guy -- very engaging, very respectful and very understanding of the job of the reporter (which can be rare).

But when his blood pressure gets raised, something happens. Insults start flying, litigation starts piling up -- he's like The Incredible Hulk of lawyers.

For putting that he is Chief Judge of the state's Military Court of Appeals on his resume, Attorney General challenger Al Hopkins was the latest victim. Hood's camp put on its website today that Hopkins is "all hat, no cattle," meaning he dresses the part of a cowboy but does not play it.

Where does he come up with this stuff?

Earlier this year, I listened in on the press conference during which Hood slammed State Farm, calling them "robber barons." Since I wasn't alive in the early 1900s, that one sent me scampering to wikipedia.org for a definition.

He also called the company, which he sued over Hurricane Katrina coverage, a cult and referred to their practices as "decadent."

The best, though, came at the expense of himself. The initiator of regulation to keep State Farm in his state despite all the litigation he created against it, Hood has also called himself a "free-marketer."

Hood's briefs also make for interesting reading, if you ever find the time. It's not hard to picture him spiking his case files after a win like a football player after a touchdown.

In a little more than a month, we'll find out if his tactics resonate with the people of Mississippi. A lot has changed since he was hired the first time.

If he loses, the world might be a little brighter for State Farm, Al Hopkins and the other targets of his anger. But it will also be a lot dimmer for journalists.