Bob Tuke, Bless His Heart

Bob Tuke, bless his heart. He's trying his best to make himself significant in the campaign against U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander. Everyone knows he's the sacrificial lamb for the Tennessee Democrat Party. But like the little kid in the back of the crowd, he's jumping up and down, waving his arms frantically, doing his best to remind folks he's still in the race.

He received a token nod from the Liberal Messiah, Barack Obama, at Al and Tipper Gore's post-debate get-together at their upscale Belle Meade estate. Obama told the Democratic choir that "we want to make sure that we elect Bob Tuke." Someone with the Boston Globe even bothered to ask him about the Liberal Messiah's campaign (but not his own). "I'm delighted to see his much more aggressive response," he responded. "I'm a Marine. If these people want to fight, they ought to buckle their chinstraps."

Trouble is, Tuke has been shooting blanks in his own campaign. He has tried to convince the media through his own polling that he has cut Sen. Alexander's lead to what they described as "a slim 50%-38% margin." A Mason-Dixon poll commissioned by the Knoxville News-Sentinel, however, placed the margin at 57% to 33% on Sept. 29. As Pith in the Wind pointed out, Alexander's campaign doesn't even refer to Tuke by name and certainly isn't worried about the competition.

It was going to be a tough road for any Democrat to take on the popular incumbent senator. Knowing the challenge, no big names wanted the nomination. But party bosses couldn't let Alexander run unopposed, so Tuke was plucked from a mediocre pool of candidates in the primary to take one for the party.

UPDATE: Jeff Woods at the Nashville Scene has written a favorable article on Bob Tuke's campaign that's worth reading.