Bow out, Bob Graham

[Freddie Stubbs]

Our position: For his sake and Florida's, he should drop out of the presidential race.

Sen. Bob Graham and his senior political advisers face a choice when they meet this weekend to discuss strategy for his presidential bid: Try to fix a foundering campaign, or bow to political reality by bowing out.

The second option is best for the Miami Lakes Democrat and his Florida constituents. It's time for him to quit the presidential race and declare his intention to run again for the Senate seat he has so ably filled for three terms.

Mr. Graham has not closed the door on running for re-election. But the longer he continues his long-shot bid for president, the more he risks diminishing his effectiveness as a senator.

more: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/opinion/orl-edped211082103aug21,0,3815970.story?coll=orl-opinion-headlines

[meegbear]

1. That's real supportive of you ....

and which other candidates should "bow out"?

[dajabr]

3. Who are you talking to?

Freddie did not write the article. He posts lots of news stories, though not as frequently as in weeks past.

What happened to your AM "article floods" Freddie?

[Freddie Stubbs]

10. Haha

I have a new job, and this one has been keeping me pretty busy recently. Not as much free time as before.

[dajabr]

11. Congrats on the new job!

We'll try to pick up the slack around here. :-)

[CMT]

2. While he should make a decision on the senate

I think he should continue to run for president. I believe he can run for both jobs in Florida? but if he wants to concentrate on the presidential race he should bow out of the Senate race and let other candidates organize. I believe the same thing regarding Edwards.

[The Backlash Cometh]

4. The Orlando Sentinel is not a beacon for Democratic values.

Here's my comments in a duped thread:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=210349

[jos]

5. Has time

The primary is not until over a year from now. He could drop out in March and still have plenty of time to run an effective campaign. Of course he may be on the ticket as a vice-presidential candidate. In that event, under Florida law, he can't run for both offices at the same time. But that's a bridge that can be crossed when, or if, it arises.

[acerbic]

6. ...but the point is:

He could drop out in March and still have plenty of time to run an effective campaign.

If he doesn't drop out, would someone else still have time to run an effective campaign?

It's unnecessary to demand that any candidate drop out of the Presidential race but it is reasonable to demand that those who have a current elected position would make an early enough clear choice on what to run for, to give the best possible chance for their Democratic replacement for the current position if the choice is to run for President.

[burr]

7. He's a great Senator..just not the Democrat to beat shrub.

"Mr. Graham's advisers insist he's in a position to win primaries in South Carolina and other states on Feb. 3. But it is unrealistic to think a candidate now polling in low single digits in New Hampshire could be a favorite a week later, even someplace closer to home.

The possibility of Mr. Graham giving up his Senate seat after 18 years has drawn a crowd of would-be successors from both political parties. None matches Mr. Graham in stature. It could take whoever wins years to approach the level of effectiveness achieved by Florida's senior senator.

Mr. Graham has been a great asset to Florida -- the reason we have strongly endorsed him in his campaigns for the Senate. That's where he belongs."

If Graham really wants to hurt shrub, he can best do it by getting re-elected to the Senate.

[jos]

8. Yes

There are 6 months from March till the primary, and there are many good candidates waiting to make a run.

[mndemocrat_29]

9. Graham and Edwards

I think that both should decide by Labor Day whether or not they will run for president or for the Senate. These two seats will be hotly contested by both sides, and we need candidates who have not only been able to raise large amounts of money, but can introduce themselves to the voting public and create a statewide machine. Additionally, if Reps. like Alcee Hastings, Allen Boyd, Peter Deutsch, and Bob Etheridge do run, we need time to find excellent candidates to win their seats (I know that Hastings's and Deutsch's seats are virtually guaranteed to go to Democrats, but we need to have good candidates so that we A. Don't have to spend any of the DCCC's money winning here and B. Those districts have really good, liberal Democrats representing them.