| [First, a cheap plug for my blog Senate 2008 Guru: Following the Races.] One of the reasons that it's important for Democrats to field a candidate against Treasurer John N. Kennedy in his 2007 re-election bid is to get him to answer questions like "If elected, do you promise to serve your entire four-year term?" and "If you plan on running for another office next year, why should voters elect you to this office this year?" Why is that important? Treasurer Kennedy has a history of flip-flopping on his career goals. In 2003, as Treasurer, he flirted with the idea of running for Governor, but "abruptly" dropped out in favor of a Treasurer re-election bid, "a move that angered some donors." Then, just three months after being re-elected Treasurer, he was willing to junk that role in favor of his first failed Senate bid in 2004, a race in which he only garnered 15%. And then, earlier this year, he of course danced between another re-election bid for Treasurer and a run for state Attorney General, another office for which he had earlier run (in 1991) and lost. And now he is swapping Parties, in what appears to be the politically expedient maneuver. The bottom line is that it is clear that Treasurer Kennedy is always ready to trash his current role to climb the next rung on the ladder and better-deal whatever office he currently holds. Ambition in and of itself is not a bad thing; but when it trumps integrity, then there's a problem. |
