Glenn Reynolds praises Democratic Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen in today's WSJ and wonders if the Democrats have the collective smarts to nominate a guy like him in 2008:

One of the things that's struck me most is how well Gov. Bredesen does on conservative talk radio. He answers questions rather than ducking them or retreating into slogans and sound bites, and as a result the hosts (and listeners) respect him even when they disagree. That's an important skill: If you can imagine a Democratic presidential nominee who will hold his own on Rush Limbaugh or Hugh Hewitt's shows, you're imagining a Democrat who could win the general election.

What a concept! A politician that actually answers questions and thereby gains the respect of voters. One wonders if this kind of craziness might catch on. But this is not all. In addition, the Governor had the audacity to:

(meet fiscal problems) head-on, with 9% across-the-board spending cuts and a novel approach: He said what he was going to do, and then he did it. His first fiscal year ended with the state in surplus, and the "rainy day fund" is at its highest level in history.

So, Tennessee Democrats must be proud of their increasingly popular Governor, right? Of course not. Instead, they are getting whiny about the fact that any Democrat capable of winning some praise from Republicans must have sold his soul to the devil.

When you're a minority party, as the Democrats are, reaching out to the opposition would seem to be essential. But whatever his other skills, if Gov. Bredesen's fellow Democrats can't appreciate that, he's going to have problems.

Never mind the lefties Glenn, if Bredesen keeps up the whole common sense and honesty thing long enough, the great unwashed masses of moderates from both parties will rise up and ... vote for him, particularly in the 20 states that have some form of open presidential primary.

In addition to the Instapundit and moi, my father-in-law (the original Southern Democrat) likes Bredesen. With a powerhouse trio of support like this, how can Bredesen possibly fail to take over the free world?   ¶ 12:06 AM