October 21, 2006

Ford Backfires

This is the best ad yet from the Corker campaign.

Meanwhile, if you haven't seen Harold Ford Jr.'s little stunt yesterday where he crashed a Corker press conference, you can view it here. Ford miscalculated huge, and put the spotlight directly on the infamous Ford family - full of indicted, convicted and corrupt politicians for whom politics is the family business. Ford inherited his Congressional seat from his dad, but it came loaded with Ford family baggage that seems to get more junk crammed into it all the time.

"I know you're here to talk about my family," Ford said to Corker.

"No, no. I'm here to talk about you," Corker replied.

Ford initiated the mugging but Corker won the confrontation, hands down, showing a quiet toughness and a level of maturity far above Ford's.

The truth is, Harold Ford Jr. and his family are inextricably linked. He's not Harold Smith Jr. from Chattanooga, after all. He's the scion of the famous and infamous Ford political machine of Memphis. And by his rude actions yesterday, confronting Corker like a petulant teenager, Ford Jr. may well have managed to make the rest of the campaign about three things Ford Jr. never wanted this campaign to be about: Ford Jr., his family, and how he just might not be mature enough yet to sit in the U.S. Senate.

Memo to Harold: If you don't want people linking you with your family, stop acting like a punk.