Jim Doyle announced today he’s not running for reelection. Doyle’s political obituary will note that he came in largely as a pro-business Democrat who took the nation’s reaction to an economic recession and an extremely likeable presidential candidate to mean that the general electorate had changed fundamentally.  It hadn’t, and the Governor’s poor approval rating and Obama’s falling approval rating are testaments to that fact.  It amazes me that two of the best politicians this country has produced are tone-deaf to the impacts of a recession on the electorate.  The economy is a galvanizing force and one of the few forces that can beat an incumbent.  And yet, Doyle was not willing to shift his policies and stance to at least address the challenges of the recession.  Doyle’s budget spent more money at a higher rate to do the same-old, same-old while including policy items that made Wisconsin a worse place to do business (and thus create jobs). 

Christian Schneider, a former special guest to CYP, has analyzed all of the Democratic contenders in a pretty good column. 

If anyone gives Barbara Lawton or John Erpenbach any money, the Democratic primary could be really bloody.  I don’t see the Republican primary to be an ideological battle (as of yet); if one of the liberals starts tearing away at Kind or Barrett for not being liberal enough, it could become very negative really quickly.  Kind will have to make at least one tough healthcare vote in the next few months that will determine if the Dane County liberals can live with him or look elsewhere.