“As if to show his own toughness, Mr. Black is running a negative campaign against Dr. Wulsin…. The attacks don’t wash.”
Body (can extend into news / blog section):
When Victoria Wulsin first appeared on the political scene, she was an idealist who didn’t seem to grasp the conservative nature of her district or the unlikeliness of a Democratic victory there. She was a suburban liberal. She lost a primary to Paul Hackett, who had a decidedly different image.
Dr. Wulsin had a remarkable resume of medical work, both here and abroad. She had devoted years to humanitarian causes.
She had not been a politician. And yet she was seeking a high position. However, she was not asking to skip ahead of other Democratic politicians. None of them wanted to run for the seat in question. They saw it as belonging to the Republicans.
This time, in the primary her main opponent is Steve Black. Harvard- educated (like Dr. Wulsin), he is a lawyer and member of a well-known Cincinnati family. His father, who died this year, was a judge. And a relative is a federal magistrate who ran for the Ohio Supreme Court twice after serving on the municipal bench.
Mr. Black has voted in Republican primaries until very recently. He says he switched parties because of displeasure with President George W. Bush. His father also switched and wrote a newspaper piece outlining his reasons.
A third candidate is William Smith, but he has been largely invisible on the campaign trail.
Mr. Black claims that Dr. Wulsin is not “tough” enough to be beat Jean Schmidt. He points to a debate two years ago in which she didn’t come on strong. Dr. Wulsin largely accepts this criticism of her last campaign and has been trying to hone a tougher line this time.
As if to show his own toughness, Mr. Black is running a negative campaign against Dr. Wulsin, saying she’s been investigated on a medical ethics issue, that she has not released the names of all her donors (the law does not require that for small donors), that she wants more trade with the likes of Armenia (yes, Armenia), and more.
The attacks don’t wash. At a certain stage, the claim that the Democrats need a tougher candidate devolves into the claim that Congress needs yet another lawyer, another few-holds-barred warrior.
But ultimately that’s a call for a generic candidacy. And that is not what the Democrats need in this Republican venue.
If voters are going to do something unusual, they have to be presented with an unusual option. Paul Hackett was one; by virtue of her background, so is Victoria Wulsin. True, they both lost, but they came a lot closer than their predecessors.
Dr. Wulsin would bring unusual experiences, sensibilities and ability to Washington. In a primary race in which the Democrats do not differ profoundly on the issues, she is the right choice.