Bredesen won every county in the state..nobody running for governor ever done it before & 71% of the vote in Knox County.

That's pretty fucking popular dont you think?

I've heard Barbara Milkauski's (sp?) name floated today also.

This may not be as much speculation as we thought. Jonathan Cohen at The New Republic thinks Bredesen is a serious consideration, as does Ezra. Now both of these sources think Bredesen is a risky, bad choice, but they both think he is seriously being considered.

Bredesen may not be your favorite GUV, but try Ron Ramsey and get back to us. -- s.

What Russ said.

I dont know Bredesen but by & large I think he's done a good job.But dont believe he will be sec of hhs.I think he will stay on as guv & help guide us thru this economic mess.

There are Democrats in Knox County that like him others dont.Count me as one that does.

It's been 7 years of listening to some Democrats trash a Democratic governor & I've about tired of argueing with them.

My tanks empty on saying I like the governor & listening to those that dont get madder than a wet hen.You got your right to your opinion..so we agree to disagree.

Like I said on another thread Cooper I do know & when he was representing the 4th district in congress there was then as now Democrats always bitching about him.

For Jim I've heard it for 28 years.

And like I said..we agree to disagree on Jim as well.

I like Cooper & Bredesen you folks dont.

You aint changing my mind I aint changing yours.

And thats the way it is.

IMHO Bredesen was a good mayor & has been a good governor.Jim's been a good congressman both in the 4th & the 5th district.

Metjula you dont agree with my opinion on that.Fine.We disagree.

You dont think much of Jim's endorsement of Obama way back when.Fine.We disagree.

Aint no thang but a chicken wang we just disagree.

This is old poll data (late 2005), but little has changed since. In short, Bredesen won in Tennessee because he pulled large numbers of Republicans over, not because he energized the base. In fact, he is one of only two Governor's in the nation (in this 2005 50-state survey) to get a higher approval rating among his opposition party (Republicans) than his own party base (Democrats). Personally, I think he would be a disaster as HHS Secretary... and that's not what Obama needs. See poll data at (link...)

Sharon Cobb's TennCare documentary (which is long but actually pretty good) on why Bredesen shouldn't be considered for HHS:

(link...)

I think it is a stretch to consider Bredesen a good governor.

He wasn't even a good mayor. During his tenure: He managed to snag an NFL franchise and an NHL franchise. Both included deals with huge tax waivers and public financing of two huge facilities, both of which have been plagued by lack of sponsorship, cost overruns, obsolescence, and in the case of the Preds, the team being ready to leave town within a decade of getting started up. Property taxes basically tripled to fund the bonds to build these sports facilities and underwrite the tax breaks. When Gaylord stopped paying for the naming rights to the Nashville Arena, they got to keep the name on the building at a loss to the taxpayers of over $2M/year. That went on for 3 years. The interim between Adelphia and the LP sponsorship was similarly long and money-losing. Ditto the Dell deal - big tax bonanza to a company who, for the most part, didn't hire locally. Most of the best paying jobs were imports. But by the time these results were in full flower, he'd moved on to the governor's office, and Purcell inherited the mess. But Bud Adams and Michael Dell got their freebies, all on the taxpayers' dime. (How are Nashville schools performing in the wake, he asked rhetorically?)

Politically, Bredesen has been a mess, presiding over historic losses of legislative majorities, being in charge when a quarter of the Senate D caucus was frog-marched out of office, he's made much hay in the press about how grassroots D's are fools for backing Kerry and Obama, he's bragged constantly about his approval numbers among Republicans (note: usually at least a multiple greater among R's than D's), he waved off McWherter and Davis for Senator - either of whom had a better shot at winning against Lamar! than Tuke did, his "brain" Dave Cooley was caught fixing speeding tickets for cronies using the THP and using same as his own patronage machine (and Cooley's contact at THP would run unauthorized background checks on citizens and state employees), he insisted on harsh changes to TennCare which hurt the participants least able to help themselves the worst, he rammed through workman's comp reform (to the detriment of working men & women, of course), his education policy has boiled down to supporting the state lottery, he insisted on spending $20M in state funds on an extravagant addition to the governor's mansion, and held the line on the income tax despite the fact that we have one of the highest, most regressive sales tax structures in the country and, oh, by the way, the state is now going broke because people aren't buying things locally. Surprise, surprise. Now the TNDP is similarly broke (with his picks Tuke and Sasser having gone down on the SS Failboat that is Breddie's ship of state), Bredesen is in a pout because he didn't get his choice appointed to the chairman's seat, and there's no clear successor to follow up on and to consolidate his so-called "legacy," such as it is. My question is: Who in his/her right mind would want that job?

(Lincoln Davis, like him or not, is a bright guy. I think that the cruel calculus is that the TN governorship is not a job worth having, even if it's an election that is potentially within his grasp.)

The upside - The first inaugural was kinda nice. I went to that. He's not easily distracted by the "family values" nonsense, but I don't recall him taking a leadership position on the gay marriage amendment. I appreciate his token efforts to fund conservation of public lands. Can't think of much else I really liked from him, policy- or politics-wise.

I think Bill has "good governor" confused with "good guy." That "D" next to his name probably goes a long way, even if Bredesen was merely a marginally more competent technocrat than Don Sundquist (and arguably better at enacting policy palatable to Republicans than his predecessor, which is ultimately why he's still governor). And for those who keep saying that, "well, just wait until you have a Governor Ramsey," well -- how am I supposed to tell the difference? The bar is already set pretty low.

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