Just catching up on some “news” (sourced from the greatest news source out there, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart), and having just finished watching Tuesday night’s episode – featuring a story on Paul Hackett’s run for US Senator for Ohio – I thought I would check out some online material on the candidate.
I was saddened to find out that Hackett pulled the plug on his campaign (yeah it happened a month ago, but I don’t live in Ohio). I read his withdrawal entry and have to say that – on the surface – the Democrats have lost a great opportunity. Hackett appears to have an energy that could have benefitted the party, which was confirmed when he ran for Ohio’s Congressional District 2, and nearly won – in a strong GOP area. He also has the added draw of being an Iraq Veteran, not to mention quite good looking (which helps, trust me).
More importantly, it appears that the senior members of the Democratic Party, both elected and bureaucratic, actually played a significant part in influencing this decision … not of Hackett directly, but from the donors. The Democratic Party is so wanting to win, it appears it is becoming it’s own worst enemy. 2006 poses to present a remarkable opportunity for the Democrats, and as each day goes by, it appears they have failed to recognized this, and will continue their wanderings in the wilderness. I hope I’m wrong.
Edit: Forgot to mention that Hackett is not going to remain idle. He has joined the Board of Advisors for the Iraq Afghanistan Veteran of Amercia PAC (IAVA PAC). Be sure to check them out.