So the best the Chris Bell campaign can do is unearth some 20-year-old report and peddle it to folks too young to remember that Sharp lost to Perry by a mere 1% during an election in which George W. Bush was being re-elected Texas Governor by 19% just above him on the ballot? Sounds exactly like the kind of strength and proven vote-getting power Texas needs to put Perry out of our misery once and for all.

A) Perry was a Democrat at the time.

Ok, so he did better than Garry Mauro did in 1998. Please explain how he got his ass destroyed by David Freaking Dewhurst in 2002? Sharp received all the money and all the Democratic attention in 1998 and still lost to then Agriculture Secretary and less well known Rick Perry. Has Sharp gotten that much stronger from his two losses? No.

Please explain Sharp's strategic brilliance to me, as he was the mastermind that foisted Tony Sanchez upon us. Other than making a lot of Democratic consultants a lot of money, that was about as good an idea s New Coke.

Please, for the love of God, don't let John Sharp get back into the game. I'd rather lose while drawing clear lines between the two sides than get our ass kicked with yet another "me too" campaign.

You're right. Rick Perry was a Democratic state representative from near Abilene in 1985, and John Sharp was a state senator from Victoria on his way toward an overwhelming victory against a Democratic primary challenger and a Republican general election opponent.

In 2002, Sharp was outspent by Dewhurst $30 million to $9 million during a year in which, as we now know, DeLay and comppany poured millions of illegal corporate cash into stgate and local races. And Sharp STILL did better by far than any other Democrat on the ticket.

If you want to runa losing crusade in right-wing Texas, that's your choice. If you prefer to take your best shot at getting rid of Perry and beginning to stop the damage he is doing to working families, college students, homeowners and taxpayers, maybe a little less crusading and a little more pragmatism is in order.

John and his ilk helped get us in this situation with his "pragmatism". Besides, saying "he did better than any other Democrat in 2002" is like saying he scored better than the other retarded kids on his SATs. Not high praise.

So money is the only reason he lost to Dewhurst? How about he ran a remarkably unremarkable campaign? Sharp had greater name idea, a better name, was a better campaigner and had more than enough money to be competitive. Yet, without George Bush on the ticket, he actually did worse his second time around.

His time has past. John Sharp MIGHT (emphasize MIGHT) get a couple of percentage points more than another Democratic standard-bearer, but the fact that he will campaign with a "me too" agenda will get us no closer to actually returning to power for good. In reality, Sharp will get his ass kicked by Perry.

We have to draw clear lines between the two sides and de-legitimate the GOP. Having your nominee for Governor say over and over again "I agree but think we ought to do what he says only slightly differently" ain't going to get us anywhere. Sure, he might do a bit better in East Texas, but he won't maximize the urban counties or the Hispanic vote by running a GOP lite campaign. That's not a crusade, that is the fucking reality of where we are today as a party in this state.

New blood. Thanks for the memories, John.

Chris Bell has an exploratory committee going and will announce whether he will run or not sometime this summer.

I agree. I love John Sharp, but please put him out to pasture... next, please?

I think we can do better than Sharp or Bell. Sharp's performance in the 2002 election proved he doesn't appeal to rural or hispanic voters. Good luck winning without either group. Anyone ever hear of Pete Laney? He could bring in Rural voters, doesn't scare of the base, and could hang Tom Craddick around Perry's neck. Also he is the anti-Perry, honest and down to earth. Check and see the last time a democrat got elected statewide without a good showing in the rural areas (especially East Texas).

Really? Chris Bell is thinking about running for governor? We had no idea!

Agreed that we can't -- and I can't bear watching us -- try to out Republican the Republicans. Sharp has tried repeatedly and failed. GWB won the presidency by giving his base something to care about. The millions of non-voting Ds will be much more motivated to vote, if there's a discernable difference between the D nominee and the R.

And what if KBH wins the primary? Then we'd have a pro-choice R woman v. an anti-choice D man. An easy choice for this pro-choice D.

The level of sophistication in this discussion is... well, unimpressive. Pete Laney? Rural voters? East Texas? Let's get serious. And check your facts. Sharp did better among rural voters than Dewhurst and better among Hispanic voters than Sanchez in 2002. He also ran a seamless campaign that was "unremarkable" only because all the focus was on the next race up the ballot, the Perry-Sanchez slugfest. Please, let's get serious.

If John couldn't win against David Dewhurst with George Bush NOT on the ballot, what on Earth makes anyone think that, four years later having done virtually nothing, he is going to rise, Phoenix-like and beat Perry?

Texans have had their opportunity to elect John Sharp and they passed on it. His time has come and gone. In fact, we had higher turnout in 2002, yet he lost by more against a weaker, less-known candidate and without Bush at the top of the ticket. Pretty damn unremarkable if you ask me.

The truth of the matter is, his only shot to beat Perry for Governor was in 2002. But he thought it would be better to hand-pick a rich Hispanic for the top of the ticket so he could skate through as Lieutenant Governor. A pretty piss-poor strategy.

And Pete Laney would be a much better contrast to both Rick Perry and Tom Craddick than John Sharp could ever hope to be.

Laney: He got us into this mess, he can get us out.

Just a thought - Strayhorn's not gonna beat Perry in the primary, so it's safe to say Perry's the guy to beat. You want crossover votes that would oust Perry for good? Nominate Sharp. Bell's a sacrificial candidate at best.

Edmonton dominated the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday night and the 4-0 margin in Game 6 makes it hard to imagine the Oilers not hoisting hockey's Holy Grail above their heads in less than 48 hours. And it would not come as any shock to see defenseman Chris Pronger, who had another 31-minute night, take the honors for the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP.

Edmonton dominated the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday night and the 4-0 margin in Game 6 makes it hard to imagine the Oilers not hoisting hockey's Holy Grail above their heads in less than 48 hours. And it would not come as any shock to see defenseman Chris Pronger, who had another 31-minute night, take the honors for the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP.