January 02, 2009 10:37 PM UTC

Alternative Theory: Dark Horse Superstar?

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• by: Colorado Pols

While we try like hell to get our collective heads around Governor Bill Ritter’s daring (he hopes) selection of DPS superintendent Michael Bennet to fill the seat of promoted Sen. Ken Salazar, and stand by our assessment that this pick defies all political common sense, we are always willing to consider possibilities.

The chief pushback we’re hearing to criticism of Bennet’s selection is that his admitted brilliance and ability to rise to major new challenges are being underestimated. This comes to us from sources who know and have worked closely with Bennet, and who insist there is something to be seen in him that hasn’t been able to shine given the positions he’s held so far.

There is a certain leap of faith required to fully accept this, and that’s the problem given the alternative of at least equally qualified–and better known–candidates looking ahead to 2010. We want to be clear that our issue is not with Bennet’s personal ability to campaign well, but his ability to do as well as candidates with fewer name-ID hurdles and a base of support already in place. Bennet is a risk, and an entirely unnecessary risk at that; it’s not like Republicans picking an untested candidate as a way to shake up a race after years of losing.

But consider this: when Sarah Palin exploded onto the national stage, she went from photogenic nobody to immensely popular superstar in a matter of days–until they let her talk without a script. Can the similarly photogenic and novel Bennet do the same, succeeding where she tanked by not colossally blundering through his first interviews?

Like we said, there are always possibilities.