The Senate primary election in Colorado will be another indicator of outlook for the November election.   Bennet is the designated Democratic Party favorite.  He was appointed, by Democratic Governor Bill Ritter,  to the position to replace Ken Salazar, the current Secretary of the Interior.  Prior to Salazar leaving this seat it would have been considered one of the safest Democratic Senate seats.

Bennet had everything going for him.  He had lot of money.  He was given stimulus money hand outs from the Obama administration.  He is the incumbent.  He had strong support in the media.   Obama personally campaigned for him.  The Obama administration even tried to bribe Romanof into dropping out to clear the path for Bennet.  (sound familiar?)   But a funny thing happened on the way to the Forum.  Romanof, who had squat for money, started to gain on Bennet.  Then, at the last minute, Bill Clinton showed up to campaign for Romanof.  Odds are that Clinton had little impact, because about 60% of the vote was by absentee ballot and those people had voted before Clinton got involved.   It is becoming clear that the Clintons are more and more willing to distance themselves from Obama.

If Bennet loses, it is another public slap in the face for Obama.  It basically means NOBODY he has campaigned for has even survived the primary.  That would be very bad news for the administration.

Romanof is not exactly a great choice for the Senate.  He brags about being more progressive than Bennet.  Since Bennet is a hard-core tax and spend liberal, that is pretty amazing.  It looks like either Republican candidate will beat either Democratic candidate.

So, here’s the deal.  Obama can’t win anything tonight.  Even if Bennet squeaks by, Obama will get zero credit.  If Romanof loses, it will be viewed (correctly) as another big Obama bust.   If Bennet loses, Democrats will be in a massive race to see who can distance themselves fastest and farthest from the Annointed One.

TDM