My guess is State Sen. John Unger was willing to take on one powerhouse in the state to try to oust Shelley Moore Capito, but was unwilling to take on two, especially when one is the head of his own state party. I still think Unger could have won and he made a huge mistake by not filing. In the day to day aspects of a campaign it's probably hard to look beyond the immediate obstacles and to see the big picture of the wave that is likely to hit nationally in 2008. Unger had strong DCCC support, due in large part to his own efforts, but thanks in no small part to the hard work of people on this blog and within the DCCC organization. While I don't speak for the DCCC, it's probably safe to say he's disappointed them as he's disappointed us. But David didn't have to face two Goliaths or he might have wavered too.
On a personal level, I really like Joe Manchin. He's charismatic and he can be generous with his time in listening and connecting to people.
That said, his support of Capito, cloaked in "bipartisanship" but really because of long family connections, makes him look really bad on a national level with the Democratic Party. He's too popular in the state becaue of his personal appeal, but I don't think he realizes how this hurts any national aspirations he has. The transcript scandal and the WVU coaching scandal are embarrassments, but the national party could discount those as a family matter and a local issue. However, this involves party loyalty. To the party, that is another matter entirely. |
