Bloodless Coup

In response to this poll, Chafee's released an internal poll showing he has a 14 point lead.

I asked my mom, a lifelong Rhode Islander who tends to center-left positions and to support "character" candidates over incumbents generally (she's against the war, voted for Perot, Anderson, etc.), what she thought of Sheldon Whitehouse:

"He's a dipstick."

I asked what she thought of Steve Laffey:

"He's a bigger dipstick."

She and my dad will be voting for Linc in the primary, though they don't seem to like him much either.

I guess I feel a little sorry for Rhode Island. I'd agree that all three of those guys are ... well they all leave something to be desired.

That said, it could be worse. They could live in Oklahoma, land of Inhofe AND Coburn.

Once upon a time (and for many years) they had John Chafee and Claiborne Pell, which wasn't a bad pair.

Indeed. Though, well I haven't followed his career that closely, but Jack Reed appears to be a reasonably serious and capable guy too.

Actually this raises an issue that few have brought up when the possibility of a "wave" election is discussed (this year it would seem a Democratic wave is the only option). A rising partisan tide can sometimes wash into Washington players who really aren't remotely ready for prime-time. I'm not saying that Whitehouse fits into this category, but if there is a wave, well, Democrats are likely to be less than thrilled with some of the not-so-impressive political jetsam that washes up on 1st St. True, they'll offer votes to make Reid and Pelosi leader. But if when thinks back to who came in in 1980 or 1994, well, not every new face is likely to be one the party membership is proud of.