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Not a great batting average

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Illinois

“Good to see George Will has his pulse on IL politics again,” a friend cracked wise a moment ago.

He was referring, of course, to the glowing bit of fluff that the national columnist penned about Governor Rod Blagojevich this week.

My friend reminded me that Will also wrote an over-the-top piece about the ultimately disgraced US Senate candidate Jack Ryan in November of 2003. The following sentence fragment pretty much sums up the entire column:

But he is, above all, a moralist…

Heh.

posted by Rich Miller
Monday, Feb 21, 05 @ 4:23 pm

Comments

Look for the SF Chronicle piece that has the GRod almost last in a long line of Dems headed for CA to suck campaign $$$.

Comment by Anonymous Monday, Feb 21, 05 @ 4:58 pm
Here is the piece Mr.ANON touts

Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry hit the Bay Area this month. Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware is flying out here this week. Sen. Evan Bayh is making California plans. So is Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano.

And John Edwards is already on the books for a San Francisco speech next month.

The seats from President Bush’s second inauguration are barely cold, but leading Democrats — many publicly or privately considering their 2008 election calender — have once again descended on the Golden State, hitting the very blue West Coast in hopes of picking up the green.

While most caution they’re only keeping their options open for a future White House bid, party insiders and donors say the round of “meet and greets” has one strategic aim: to stake a claim and nab big givers in the nation’s most populous and politically generous state.

But even in a state where political fund-raising is almost considered sport, the shockingly early start has veteran observers stunned. “Why don’t they give us a respite?'’ said University of Southern California political analyst Sherry Bebitch Jeffe.

But Jeffe acknowledged that it makes perfect sense. A full three years and nine months before the next presidential election, with no incumbent president or vice president in the ring, the 2008 presidential race will be the first entirely open election since the 1950s — an opportunity that neither party will ignore.

“It’s no surprise they’re making a beeline here,'’ she says, “because they’ll have to get this out of the way early” to pick up cash should the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary remain “first in the nation.'’

“It’s all about money,'’ agreed state GOP spokeswoman Karen Hanretty. Her explanation for the Democrats’ rush: “They have a lot of ground to make up with Hillary (Clinton) in the race,'’ because she is both popular in California — and in possession of a rich fund-raising database, thanks to her husband, former President Bill Clinton.

So far, Hillary Clinton — who has plenty of friends in the Bay Area — is one of the few Democrats not heading out here any time soon. But the already dizzying schedule of Democrats beating a path from the Beltway to the West Coast has leading party donors steeling themselves.

Delaware’s Biden — who got raves from the party’s grass roots with his aggressive grilling during the confirmation hearings for Condoleezza Rice — will be in San Francisco on Wednesday for a “meet and greet'’ with supporters and friends. Asked if the senator’s event is a fund-raiser, communications director Norm Kurz laughed and said that anything is possible. Biden, he notes, is a lifelong public servant and “not a guy who can self-finance a campaign … so he definitely has to go out and ask his friends'’ for support.

Bayh, a moderate from Indiana, is also planning to make the rounds here at the next the legislative break, say insiders who have gotten word from his office.

Connected Democrats say Edwards — whose wife, Elizabeth, appears to be responding very well to breast cancer treatment — has privately expressed intentions to run in 2008 and to get his campaign revved up early. He’ll speak March 17 before the Bar Association of San Francisco — a venue that has become a must for Democratic presidential candidates. And the subject is classic Campaign 101: “Strengthening the American Dream: Combatting Poverty and Expanding Work and Opportunity.'’

Kerry’s 2004 running mate arrives on the heels of Kerry himself, who came earlier this month. His wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry, was in the state meeting with scientists at Stanford regarding global environment and climate changes, and Kerry joined her in Los Angeles and San Francisco, where he was introduced by state Treasurer Phil Angelides. Insiders say the event was merely a “thank you” for supporters and past campaign workers. The trip was mostly ignored by the media, which was apparently how Kerry wanted it. (”Any time a politician comes to town and doesn’t want publicity — it’s a fund-raiser,'’ Hanretty said.)

Meanwhile, some Democrats predict that the newly elected chair of the Democratic National Committee, Howard Dean, will begin making the rounds soon. While the former Vermont governor insists he won’t run for president, a few insiders say Dean — already a talk-show favorite — will get increasing pressure from his loyal followers to do just that in 2008.

But savvy state Democrats say the real buzz in donor circles — where the search is already in play for a 2008 party star — is this time over some governors, who don’t have the sometimes sticky legislative voting record that can derail a presidential campaign.

Among those being talked about — and pressured — to make the trek to California:

– Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (pronounced bla-GOYA-vich). Son of a World War II prisoner of war, this former Golden Gloves boxer who grew up on Chicago’s West Side has a compelling up-by-the-bootstraps life story, a Midwestern constituency and an attractive young family. And among the grass roots, he’s viewed positively for extending the moratorium on death row executions established by his Republican predecessor, Gov. George Ryan, in 2000.

– Virginia Gov. Mark Warner. The Harvard Law graduate turned politician has sparked interest because of his standing as a Southern governor — a Democratic centrist in a decidedly red state. Warner also chairs the National Governors Association.

– Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano. A distinguished alumna of Santa Clara University, with family in San Leandro, Napolitano has lots of fans in the Bay Area who hope she’ll soon be considered for president or vice president in 2008. Polls show that she’s enjoying record high approval ratings in Arizona, where she has won over many Republicans and independents. She’s headed here in the next month.

“My theory is you’ll see the Republicans coming in to court Gov. Schwarzenegger and the Democrats coming in to court the money and the electoral votes,'’ Bebitch Jeffe said. “The sooner the better, as far as they’re concerned.'’

Comment by Anonymous Monday, Feb 21, 05 @ 5:21 pm
Why do some pundits and reporters have such a difficult time sticking to writing about the things they know and not writing about the things they didn’t know? They need some sort of national award for pundits whose predictions are way off base. Maybe we could call them the “Kneelys”, in honor of Steve Neal, whose piece on how Jim Durkin could give Dick Durbin “a real run for his money” is an all-time classic. Linda Lovelace could model for the statuette…

Comment by Anonymous Monday, Feb 21, 05 @ 5:49 pm
I hate that you beat me to this stuff now.

Comment by ArchPundit Tuesday, Feb 22, 05 @ 6:32 pm
This post has been removed by the author.

Comment by Rich Miller Tuesday, Feb 22, 05 @ 7:09 pm
Jack Ryan was a moralist.
He just was a kinky moralist who liked people to watch.

He didn’t cheat he just liked to show off.

Rod needs red state voters and he is moving red
aren’t red and blue Purple
maybe Rod will dress up as Barney

Comment by Anonymous Thursday, Feb 24, 05 @ 4:12 pm