I think my friends on the left have greatly underestimated Josh Penry's viability as a gubernatorial candidate. There is a view on the left that Penry is too far right to be a viable state wide candidate. I agree that Penry is very conservative but I think he has the ability to run a campaign of clear contrast with Ritter that makes Penry a very dangerous candidate.
Republicans, with big assists from Ritter's own people, have succesfully painted the governor as ineffectual and indecisive. Ritter is a middle-aged guy who looks increasingly defensive when dealing with press. He's a little frumpy looking and doesn't give off the feeling of a guy who has is driven by his convictions. Accurate or not I think that's a fair assesment of the image that the governor has right now and one that Penry's campaign will continuely try to reinforce.
Contrast that with Penry - the young, former college quarterback who wants to lead the state through these tough times. When you're running a campaign of contrasting images it's less about the substance of your policy positions that it is about the public perception. Think back to 2004. Bush won re-election not because the American public was enamored with his policy positions. They most certainly weren't. Instead Bush ran a campaign of contrast to the indecisve John Kerry. Bush was the war time president, making decisions and going with his gut. Bush knew what he wanted to do and he did it. Kerry? He voted for it before he voted against it.
If Penry wins the GOP nomination the 2010 gubernatorial campaign will shape up along very similar lines.
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