July 25, 2001

Peterson to Run for Florida Governor

Departing Ambassador to Vietnam Pete Peterson has filed papers to run for governor of Florida. The move was hailed by some Florida Democrats:

Miami attorney and Democratic fund raiser Chris Korge [said], "Peterson is without a doubt the best candidate that the Democrats can field for governor."

If that's the case, Florida's Democratic party is in deeper trouble than anyone might have thought.

Peterson, former POW in Vietnam and later Congressman from Florida's first congressional district, is barely coherent. In 1995, he spoke to my graduating law school class for what seemed like days but may have only been 45 minutes, rambling and babbling to the point where audience members elbowed each other and asked in whispered tones if Peterson was off his medication. Peterson makes our current President sound like Winston Churchill by comaprison.

I've heard that Peterson now has better aides who rein him in better when he's on the stump, but he'll have to work a lot harder to cover up his deficiencies if he wants to wrest the Governor's Mansion away from Jeb. President Bush should have won this Republican-dominated state by a landslide, but just squeaked by. Peterson doesn't share any of the advantages that put W over the top, and his race therefore looks a whole lot grimmer.

Posted by wasylik at July 25, 2001 11:38 AM