February 18, 2005 6:17 AM

OK, but four years ago, no one had ever heard of Howard Dean, either

Ted Kulongoski for President?

The Republicans are smarter. They’ve created these social issues to get the public to stop looking at what’s happening to them economically. What we once thought - that people would vote in their economic self-interest - is not true, and we Democrats haven’t figured out how to deal with that.

  • Gov. Ted Kulongoski

tedkulongoski.jpgDo you know this man? No? There really isn’t any reason you should, I suppose. Ted Kulongoski is the Governor of Oregon (yes, that funny-looking rectangular Blue State just above California), and while he hasn’t really done much of anything to attract attention outside of Oregon, that may be enough to attract the attenttion of Democratic king-makers.

If there is anything the Democratic Party could benefit from on a national level, it’s new voices and new ideas. Ted Kulongoski may seem like a lone, anonymous voice in the wilderness, but think Jimmy Carter in 1975. At that time, Carter was merely a Georgia peanut farmer. Stranger things have happened in this party.

Even Daily Kos has chimed in with an opinion, opining that that he’s “not particularly ugly or fat,” and asks, “Do you think that Ted Kulongoski could be a viable contender for 2008?”

He seems to be a solid center-left democrat with progressive tendencies, who is especially interested in creating living wage jobs. And it seems like he is one of the few Democratic governors with a military background.

Some left-wing bloggers seem to think that Teddy K is a viable alternative. While this may seem laughable now, who among us had heard of, much paid any attention to, John Edwards or Howard Dean four years ago?

Given the rudderless ship that is the Democratic Party these days, Ted Kulongoski makes as much sense as anyone else. Of course, given that I left Oregon almost eight years ago, I can’t really offer any insight on the man. I would have preferred ex-Governor John Kithaber myself, but is the strong, silent type really what the Democratic Party needs in 2008? Sadly, probably not, because a more forthright and reasonable Democrat would be difficult to find.

Stay tuned, y’all, because I can guarantee you that at least a few of the names in the preliminary 2008 Democratic Presidential campaign will be people you have never heard of. Ted Kulongoski may well be one of them. Hey, at least Americans would have to figure out where Oregon is on a map. That in itself would be a positive result.

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This page contains a single entry by Jack Cluth published on February 18, 2005 6:17 AM.

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