Phil in '06?

According to some rumors on my local country radio station this morning, my governor, Phil Bredesen, is being wooed as a potential Democratic candidate for 2006. We've been hearing this since he was featured as a mover and shaker earlier this year.

I like Phil. He's the first Democrat that I voted for on a statewide level. He was VASTLY superior to the weasel Van Hilleary that was his opponent. *shudder*. I would like to see him up against Bill Frist. Both would certainly do wonders to shred the Tennessee hillbilly image (as if either of them are actually FROM Tennessee, but that's neither here nor there) and they would certainly make us important on a national level, which is a good thing. He would also show the world that everyone in Tennessee doesn't have that horrible plastic hair, fake smile and "Damn, y'all are so stupid" drawl. Oh, and some of us even vote before we decide to run for election, too.

I'm not so naive as to think that this is a done deal or anything, but the Democrats could certainly do worse. Bredesen is a Yankee transplant, so he appeals to two different groups. He's a Southern Yankee Democrat governor who managed to beat a Republican in one of the reddest states around these days. He is a businessman with lots of his own money. His wife is smart and does her own thing (and has her own last name, which is sure to send some conservative yahoos into a tizzy). He's taken on the state's liberal sacred cow, TennCare and done what no one thought ANYONE ever would--tried to clean the damn thing up. That alone will get him my vote for LIFE for whatever office he tries to run for.

I shall be watching and waiting to see what happens. Needless to say, if there's a Tennessean in the running, I'd VASTLY prefer him to be it...although the idea of voting against Frist is delicious.