Today the Times assesses Tennessean New Yorker Harold Ford Jr.’s retail-politics skills as he continues touring parts of the state he’s surely long dreamed of visiting. The verdict: formidable! His ability to make connections with voters is even referred to as “Clinton-esque.” And, also like Clinton, he’s probably going to run:
Friends who have spoken with him in recent days said that he was more likely than not to enter the race, and that they expected a decision well before his self-imposed deadline….
“I put it at 80 percent,” said a close supporter who spoke with him during the past week; he cautioned that Mr. Ford’s mind was not made up.
In case the taking leave from his presumably well-paid bank job to travel around upstate New York, talking to strangers at greasy spoons, registering domain names like FordforNewYork.com, writing op-eds for a major paper every single day, hiring campaign staff, suddenly switching his position on gay marriage, and, oh yeah, telling people he’s “running for Senate” weren’t indication enough that he would run for Senate.