It's simple history, folks. Congressmen lose presidential elections, and governors win them. So why did the Democratic primary race include Senator Kerry, Senator Lieberman, Senator Edwards, Senator Mosely-Braun, Congressman Gephardt and Congressman Kucinich and just one governor? What could possibly make these milquetoast helmet-headed white guys (Carol Mosely-Braun aside) think they could do what no Member of Congress since JFK has done?
Perhaps these delusions had less to do with the percieved ability to win and more to do with the crushing boredom and futility of being a member of the minority party. All of those closed rules, hidden conference committee meetings and committee-level legislative deathtraps make being a minority legislator not much fun at all. With no hope of actually doing anything, the more ambitious pols start looking for a way out, and all they see is the way up.
Now that Democrats have control of both houses of Congress, these wayward non-youths now have an outlet for their energies, and it's paying off. As Scott Lemieux points out Sen. Russ Fiengold decided not to run for president because he now has some hope for his legislative agenda. Locally, Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. has decided not to run for Mayor of Chicago. Hopefully, Sens. Biden, Durbin, Kerry, Bayh and Obama (yes, Obama) will similarly be too busy on legislative matters to bother pressing the flesh in all 99 counties of Iowa or flipping pancakes at some New Hampshire Elks Lodge, guaranteeing another Democratic loss in 2008. As for Hillary, she's going to run no matter what and while I hope she loses in the primary, I don't think there's any way to keep her out.
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