Hank Brown? Really??

Further evidence that the state GOP is, at least in the short-term, a lost cause,

Several prominent Republicans have asked Hank Brown to challenge Democratic Gov. Bill Ritter in 2010.

They see Brown - a former U.S. senator who recently retired as president of the University of Colorado - as an unbeatable candidate because of his popularity.

Whoah boy. I had no idea that Colorado Republican's were this desperate. No disrespect intended to Mr. Brown or his past service to the state but anyone who thinks he is "unbeatable" needs to take a deep breath and give this another thought.

Brown was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1990. He served one term and eventually became President of Northern Colorado University and then the University of Colorado. In the time since Brown was first elected to the Senate some 1.5 million people have moved to Colorado and the social and political landscape of the state has changed tremendously. His position at CU, prestigious as it was, was not a high-profile public position. If 1/3rd of Coloradans could even name the president of CU I would be impressed. He may indeed be popular but his popularity most likely only extends to a finite group of hardcore politicos and little beyond that.

To think that a then 70 year old candidate who is a generation removed from Colorado politics is a viable candidate against a popular incumbent governor is pure folly. It's a move that reeks of desperation.