Former senator and two-time presidential candidate Gary Hart decided not to run for the Democratic nomination in 2004. It’s a little surprising to see Hart choose not to enter the race since every indication for the last four months has been he would announce his candidacy any day now.
Hart told reporters, “I’ve concluded that I do not have sufficient enthusiasm for the mechanical side of campaigning, the money, the media and the polling and so forth to go forward with a campaign.”
Though Hart won’t be a candidate, his flirtation with a third run for president has improved his national visibility, credibility, and stature. He’s impressed a lot of people nationwide with intelligent, experienced analysis on national security issues, and I was about to argue that he’s lined himself up for, perhaps, a cabinet post such as Dept. of Homeland Security if a Democrat beats Bush next year.
I was going to argue that, but I’m afraid Hart has demonstrated once again that he is his own worst enemy. In announcing that he won’t be running for the nomination, Hart did not simply conclude that he lacked the heart for the grueling life of a presidential candidate. Instead, he took a few parting shots at his would-be Democratic rivals while exiting the stage.
In an interview with his hometown paper, the Denver Post, Hart arrogantly boasted that he had a better chance to beat Bush than any of the announced Dem candidates, Howard Dean lacks necessary experience in foreign affairs, Joe Lieberman strives too close to an “amorphous middle” to win in the general election, and some unnamed candidates are running as “crypto-Republicans.”
With all due respect, Senator Hart, bitter whining is not the way to endear yourself to party leaders.