Failed presidential candidates never die, they just run for mayor. Jerry Brown did it in Oakland earlier this month. Now, perhaps inspired by Brown's success, former senator Larry Pressler of South Dakota has announced that he may run for the Republican nomination for mayor of Washington, D.C., this fall.
Didn't know that there were Republicans on the ballot in Washington? Then you probably don't know that Larry Pressler once ran for president, either. (Admittedly, both are the kind of factoid usually relegated to Trivial Pursuit.) Pressler's presidential bid began in 1979 and lasted a total of 106 days. The issue he was hoping would sweep him into the White House? He summed it up at the time in a single word: "Gasahol."
Pressler is running on a somewhat broader platform this time, for tax cuts and school vouchers and against crime. Mock him if you like, but there's little doubt the former senator would do a better job running Washington than the gang of larcenous race-baiters who have spent the last 20 years turning the District government into an unamusing joke. And the former senator is already doing his best to woo the city's predominant ethnic group, pointing out in interviews that he has an honorary degree from Southeastern University, which has quite a few black students. Plus, says Pressler, "I have a lot of African-American friends." Yes, he really said it. We smell a successful campaign slogan, if not campaign: "Larry Pressler for Mayor. Some Of His Best Friends Are Black."