February 05, 2005

Feingold in '08

Ann Althouse wants to see Sen. Russ Feingold run for President. She considers him to be a "great candidate." I noticed she didn't say he'd be a great President, or if she'd even vote for him.

For me, it's fine with me if he made a run for the White House. Heck, I wouldn't even mind if he got the Democratic nomination. He wouldn't win. Feingold has two big strikes against him: he's a liberal and a Senator. You can win the Presidency if you're the first (Carter and pre-1994 Clinton), but you have to go all the way back to JFK to find a President who jumped from the Legislature to Commander in Chief.*

"I Think You Ought to Run for President."

*For this reason I'm worried about the GOP's chances in 2008. Sen. Bill Frist has that Senator problem, and the most well-known Republican governor is Arnold Schwarzenegger who isn't eligible for the Presidency.