THREE FUN NOTES:

ARIZONA SENATE: Is This A Flake-y Idea? (Campaign Tip Sheet, 2/25/03, Hotline)

Rep. Jeff Flake (R-06) said 2/25 that his thinking of challenging Sen. John McCain (R) in the GOP primary. Flake: "At least in a Republican primary, ideas would be debated. More debate than you would get from a Democratic candidate. That's a party bereft of ideas." Flake said he will make a decision this summer. Flake's remarks came as AZ Dem chair Jim Pederson said that McCain "may have more of a challenge in his own primary." Pederson said there were "too many other priorities for" AZ Dems in '04 and "too little hope of much help from the national party to help fund an uphill race against McCain." But Pederson said a "well-funded conservative" GOPer like Flake or others "could cause some problems for McCain in a primary." [...]

CALIFORNIA SENATE: Could The GOP Look To A Latino To Challenge Boxer?

Island Valley Daily Bulletin's Drucker reports, "The name of" Sen. Barbara Boxer's (D) "opponent in her re-election bid this year could be as close as a ten-or twenty dollar bill." That's because U.S. Treas. Rosario Marin, "whose signature appears on the nation's currency, is being mentioned as a dark horse candidate by some party faithful." And Main's 2/21 address to the CA GOP Convo "did nothing to discourage them, containing all the elements of a stump speech except a declaration of her candidacy." Marin chastised Senate Dems "for threatening to kill with a filibuster Miguel Estrada's nomination" to the DC Court of Appeals. Marin, in an interview following her address to the convo, "sidestepped when pressed on her interest in challenging Boxer next year." Marin: "You never ever say 'never' to anything. I don't know what's going to happen tomorrow; I know what I need to do today. I'm so concentrated on doing my job today, what will happen tomorrow, God only knows." [...]

Forget '06 For Rice, What About This Year Post-Recall?

CNN's Novak: "Well, there's important people in California who would like Dr. Condoleezza Rice, the national security adviser to the president, to run for the Senate next year against Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer -- no stronger candidate against Boxer. But she doesn't -- Dr. Rice doesn't want to be a senator. What I'm told by good sources, however, what she might like to be is governor of California, running for an open seat for governor in 2006. It's a possibility" ("IP," 2/25).

Nothing would give conservatives greater satisfaction than taking down McCain. Nothing would give people with functioning brains greater pleasure than to remove the Senator who doesn't have one. Nothing would be better for the GOP's image than a black woman governor of California, who'd then be the leading contender for VP in 2008, assuming W doesn't tab her in '04. Posted by Orrin Judd at February 26, 2003 1:04 PM