The American Mind

Kansas Senator Sam Brownback tossed his hat into the Presidential ring:

“I have decided, after much prayerful consideration, to consider a bid for the Republican nomination for the presidency,” Brownback said in a statement. “There is a real need in our country to rebuild the family and renew our culture and there is a need for genuine conservatism and real compassion in the national discussion.”

Brownback said he has formed a presidential exploratory committee, which will allow him to travel the country and raise money while gauging support for the GOP nomination.

He also announced 20 members of his exploratory advisory committee, an eclectic mix ranging from anti-abortion activists to business executives, including: Domino’s Pizza founder Tom Monaghan, former Major League Baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn, and the Rev. Frank Pavone, head of the advocacy group Priests for Life.

He’s a nice guy but Brownback’s campaign is dead on arrival. No one outside Kansas except us political junkies know who he is. Republicans rarely nominate a long-shot. Even if Brownback pulled off the improbable he’s probably lose in a general election. Senators just don’t usually win the White House. (Of course 2008 could be unique in that both major party candidates could be Senators.)

The Anti-Sam Brownback Blog envisions his strategy:

Senator Brownback’s ideal scenario would involve an under-the-radar Iowa grassroots operation run through the evangelical churches and the Iowa pro-life organizations. He would hope to be many caucus goer’s second choice, and could cut deals with other smaller candidates to trade votes if one or the other can’t make the minimum. Even with his conservative credentials, Brownback can’t hope for a win. Second place would be a bombshell, third place would be the goal and would still shock the pundits.

Coming out of an Iowa shocker, Brownback would skip New Hampshire and focus on South Carolina. Here, second place would be a necessity.

After South Carolina, Brownback would start cozying up to the front-runner. Assuming the poll leader is more moderate than him, Brownback would start to build the case that picking him for Vice President would soothe the nerves of the ultra-conservative base and add a compassionate international twist to the ticket.

Best case scenario: Vice President Brownback.

It certainly could be Brownback is running to make the GOP ticket as conservative as possible by having himself as VP and/or to make sure the nominee pushes some of his pet issues (pro-life, AIDS). The Washington Prowler is thinking along these same lines:

So can Brownback win? To say the least it’s more than an uphill battle. But if he can push the other candidates to lock in promises on judges, taxes and life issues in a way that puts the party right, then we say he should stay in the race as long as financially sensible.

“Brownback Moves Toward White House Bid”