Ted Strickland for DNC Chair! Update: Gibbs is out.

Democrats need bold timid leadership! They need Ted Strickland!

Tim Kaine, the chairman of the Democratic National Committee, has not said whether he will run for the Senate from Virginia. But if he does, President Obama and the Democrats will need a new cheerleader.

Who should that be?

...

“The ideal would be someone who has a good national profile, popular with the base,” said Karen Finney, a former national spokeswoman for the national committee. “This is the person you send out to fund-raise and rally the troops when you can’t get Obama or Michelle or one of the other surrogates.”

Ms. Finney and several other senior Democrats suggested Ted Strickland, the former Ohio governor who lost his re-election bid last year.

If the Dems think it would help them win Ohio in 2012, I could definitely see them going with bitter Ted. Other than being from Ohio, I'm not sure what else he would bring to the position.

What would be his platform?

"39-mph trains for every state!"
"Forget about balancing your state budgets, we'll just get the Feds to bail you out!"
"Hey, I may not possess bold leadership, but it's either me or Robert Gibbs!"
"I'll turn around the DNC like I turned around Ohio!"

Update: Robert Gibbs isn't interested.

Former White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs is taking himself out of the running for the chairmanship of the Democratic National Committee, telling CNN in an exclusive interview that if DNC chief Tim Kaine steps down to run for the U.S. Senate he will not be a candidate for the post.

"I had an opportunity to do that when my name got floated six months ago," Gibbs told CNN in a telephone interview. "I am not going to run the DNC."

Believe it or not, Ted Strickland is now seen as the leading candidate. Why? Because of his leadership skills? Not so much. Just like I originally commented up above, its more because of geography.

"They need a former elected official who's a good messenger and can go on TV and is from a state they want to win in 2012," said Democratic lobbyist Steve Elmendorf. "I think Strickland would be a great pick. Ohio is going to be ground zero."

That's quite an endorsement.

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