I'll give Harry Reid this much - he has a very nice official website (bonus points for using ColdFusion by Macromedia, the excellent tool for database interactivity and web design that I use at work). Reid has earned some buzz for 2008 with his quite public resistance to the notion of Clarence Thomas as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and his opposition to Alberto Gonzales as Attorney General. These actions endear him to the Daily Kosians, and inflame conservatives, particularly since his criticisms of Thomas are borderline racist and lacking in foundation.
Harry Mason Reid - official bio
Unable to find an official or unofficial Reid 2008 site
Resume - senior Senator for Nevada; Senate Minority Leader; former Nevada state legislator; former Lieutenant Governor of Nevada; former Nevada Gaming Commissioner; former Nevada House Representative; former Senate Minority Whip
Reid's resume is not reassuring; he sounds like the consumate politician, and voters like someone who gives at least the appearance of being an outsider. Nor will his 'is he or isn't he' pro-life stance endear him to the Democratic faithful - in fact, it's probably a deal-killer. Despite Reid's severe personality flaws (he seems to lack one), Chris Suellentrop at Slate recently reminded readers that no one with a political career in Nevada can have a total lack of good stories to tell.
When looking over Reid's stance on the issues, it's hard to imagine he could emerge from a Democratic primary (in fact, it's hard to imagine him in the Senate as Minority Leader, frankly, so in that sense, you could say he sometimes exceeds expectations). I've already mentioned his suspiciously (from a Leftist standpoint) pro-life voting record, and you know how important that is to Democrats. Also, he's been pretty solidly for our efforts in Iraq, and that won't sit well with soon-to-be DNC Chairman Howard Dean.
I don't see it happening, in other words. Sure, Reid fired up the activist crowd with his condemnation of Gonzales and his 'torture memo', and making fun of Clarence Thomas is good sport indeed for 'progressives'. Given his stand on so many crucial Democratic issues, though, I think any serious bid by Reid to run would result in a 'What have you done for me lately?' reaction. Unless something dramatic changes, we can safely rule Reid out as a threat.
CURRENT ODDS: 85-1
UPDATE 07/04/05 10:36 p.m. central: Well, the activists seem to like him still...I'm bumping him from 'not a chance in Hell' to 'slim and none - and slim just left town'...
CURRENT ODDS: 50-1
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