Political Cortex: Brain Food for the Body Politic

   1. You're betting that the pundits and press have told you everything about these candidates in advance of the primary, that they're not snoozing until they wake up and discover some nice wormy dirt on the way to the general, or that they not just selling the laziest story they can cobble together.  Let's see: mixed race kid with a funny name who's never run for statewide office.  Electable?  Poor boy from Akansas who skipped out on a war and admits to smoking pot.  Electable?  Why would you surrender your own instints on who is the best candidate to the blather of the press over who is the most electable?  Stop letting them write the script for your vote.

   2. It says you have no faith in your positions.  "I hate me that there Iraq, but I bet no one who agrees with me can win."  What kind of tactic is it that starts out picking what you don't want?  We kick Democratic politicians for lacking spine, but we buy a tactic that's the definition of Jell-o back?

   3. Even more importantly, the "electability" question is nothing less than "hmm, which of the Democrats will Republicans like?"  Ladies and gentlemen, I've quite literally never said this word publically in my life, but f**k that.  You think Republicans work this way?  You think they win by wondering if Democrats will vote for Bush's git come November?  You think someone wondered if Brownback or Delay was electable?  Jesus, are we really that stupid?

Playing the "electability" game is a game for losers.  It's a game that says "I can't pick the candidate I want, I have to pick the candidate I think my opponents will like."  Know what?  You have no fracking clue what they'll like, so just stop trying to guess. Worse, playing this game only shows you are weak, weak, weak.  You might as well just nominate Lieberman and go home.

The one sure bet: If the best thing you can say about a candidate is that they're "electable" -- they're not.

If what we want to do is wrap up election 2006 and 2008 with a bow on them, and hand both over to the Republicans, then by all means, let's make sure we pick people who are electable.  You know, people who are nice, not too agressive.  For heaven's sake, no one the media might see as "mean."  Maybe someone a little ethnic, but not "too" ethnic.  Someone who comes across as honest, but never says anything that offends someone.

Hey, you know what Republicans really like?  Other Republicans. Think how sure we'd be of a win if we just picked John McCain or Bill Frist as the Democratic candidate.

Come one, drop this one now.  I'll be happy if no one mentions the word "electable" from now till 2008.  But if you have to say it, make sure you give the word the same kind of twist that the commentators on Fox News always apply to Howard Dean's name.  You know, one of those guys who is just not "electable."