Apparently Bill Frist has already announced he's not running for re-election to the Senate in 2006 (which almost certainly means he's running for president in 2008), and Rep. Harold Ford, Jr. (D-Memphis) is planning to run for the open seat.
Ford has gotten a lot of fawning press, partly for his speeches at the last two national conventions (Paul Waldman's post today is a good example).
I'm not so enthusiastic. Ford voted for the war in Iraq and the $87 billion supplemental. He's not only a card-carrying New Democrat (in other words, directly affiliated with the DLC), but he's also a member of the Blue Dog Coalition, a group of conservative Democrats who frequently abandon their caucus in casting votes. All this despite the fact that he represents a strongly Democratic district.
Yes, he gives a great speech and does well on T.V. But is it too much to ask for Democratic "rising stars" who are actually loyal to their party?
Posted by Michael at December 17, 2004 04:10 PM | TrackBack