TX-Gov: Schieffer for Governor? As A Democrat?

It figures that the first Democratic candidate for Governor of Texas nominated after the state's former Governor, George W. Bush, injected his pestilence of suck first on the heart of Texas, and subsequently on the entire globe, could be a Bush appointee. It would certainly support the rather credible theory that American politics is simply one ongoing cosmic joke.

Yet with the dearth of candidates looking at the Texas Governor's race, there's a perfectly clear path to the nomination for anyone with the money and the inclination to take a stab. And such a man, apparently, is Tom Schieffer.

Schieffer is the brother of Face The Nation moderator Bob Schieffer, a former Democratic state representative, partner in the Texas Rangers ownership, Bush-era Ambassador to Australia and Japan...and possibly the Democratic nominee for Governor of Texas.

Although Schieffer served in a Republican administration under Bush – with whom he worked as general manager of the Texas Rangers – he says there should be no confusion about his political affiliation. "I am a Democrat," said Schieffer, who voted for Barack Obama in the primary and general elections.

Schieffer, 61, who was ambassador to Japan for four years, until Jan. 20, and before that, ambassador to Australia for four years, says he is thinking that he has something to offer in the seemingly already crowded gubernatorial race.

"I’m not sure the level of debate in the state is where it ought to be," he said.

The truth is that Democrats could actually do worse - say, by not fielding a credible candidate at all, which appears to be the track we're on at the moment.

Much of the state's top Democratic talent is either looking at the upcoming U.S. Senate race, where Kay Bailey Hutchison is preparing to leave an openish seat, or holding off on statewide runs for this cycle. Houston Mayor Bill White and former state Comptroller John Sharp, generally considered the two strongest statewide candidates, are both running for Senate.

The only big name even vaguely rumored for the Governor's race at any point was that of former San Antonio Mayor and Clinton HUD Secretary Henry Cisneros, who comes with plenty of personal baggage and has yet to show any inclination to run.

The Governor's race is considered somewhere between "lemon" and "kamikaze" due to the presence of Hutchison herself, who has dreamed of the Governorship for 15 years. Governorships tend to become even more enticing when you're mired in a Senate minority for the foreseeable future.

Hutchison is the state's most popular politician, and her primary opponent, embattled incumbent Governor Rick Perry, is perhaps the state's least popular politician. She is favored to win over any Democrat in the (currently nonexistent) field.

Still, it behooves Democrats to field someone mildly respectable in the field, if only to bet on the long odds of Rick Perry managing a freakish, flukish upset in the primary. That's unlikely, but not totally outrageous; Hutchison's weakness in the primary is the hard-core Texas right-wingers who make up the Republican base and still grit their teeth every time they go to vote for a nominally pro-choice Republican, as she is. Perry has already come out swinging in the primary, so she may not be able to successfully withstand the impending flurry of Perry attacks without being damaged for the general.

If Perry manages to win the primary, all bets are off for the general, and a Democrat who isn't soul-numbingly dull, and can raise enough money to actually compete on the airwaves (read: not Chris Bell or Rick Noriega) could beat him.

Is Schieffer that guy? Perhaps, but purging your system of eight years of Bush Taint is not an easy task for any Democrat planning on showing his face in public again, least of all one running for the Governorship of one of the nation's largest states. The Houston Chronicle's Clay Robison sums it up thus:

He has been away from Texas politics (and the country) for years and, thanks to his Bush connections, likely would encounter a cool, even hostile, reception from many Democratic voters.

But Democrats aren’t overwhelmed with potential gubernatorial candidates. With Houston Mayor Bill White and former state Comptroller John Sharp planning to run for the U.S. Senate, it takes some imagination to come up with much of a list, since all statewide offices are held by Republicans.

So the relevant question at the moment is, which is better: Schieffer, or nobody at all?