THE ORIGINAL AMATEUR HOUR – AT 7:51 A.M. ET:  I do not like amateurs in politics.  Let me repeat that.  I do not like amateurs in politics.   The name of the game in electoral politics is winning.  There is no other game.  There is no consolation prize.  You don't go home with the prize behind door three just for coming in second.  There is no prize for second place.

And yet, some people don't understand that.  We have a disgraceful situation in Nevada, where Harry Reid, the Senate's unsmiling majority leader, should be easy prey.  He's unpopular, he was way, way behind in the polls only months ago.  Now, thanks to the GOP nominating an unsteady candidate in Sharron Angle, he's about even.  But what many people don't realize is that it's a three-person race.  The third candidate represents, printed right on the ballot, the Tea Party.  And every vote for the Tea Party is a vote that Sharron Angle doesn't get, a vote for Harry Reid. 

What do do?  Well, the logical, intelligent thing for a patriotic Tea Party candidate is to withdraw, possibly guaranteeing a GOP pickup.  But amateurs don't think that way.  From The Wall Street Journal: 

Nevada GOP Senate candidate Sharron Angle encouraged the Tea Party of Nevada candidate to drop out of the race to give her a better chance against Democratic Majority Leader Harry Reid.

The meeting did not go well.

“I can’t win without you,” Ms. Angle told the Tea Party candidate, businessman Scott Ashjian, at a private meeting in Las Vegas, according to Mr. Ashjian.

“That isn’t happening,” Mr. Ashjian says he replied.

A knowledgeable figure in Nevada politics described Ashjian as an "ego-maniac whack-job."  He hasn't even campaigned.

Remember that Bill Clinton became president in 1992 because another ego, Ross Perot, took votes from President Bush 41 in a three-way race.  Perot was an appalling, unprepared candidate with a lot of cash. 

Look, people have a right to run for office.  But occasionally it's not a bad idea to put country first.  The Tea Party can reelect Harry Reid, and I'm not so sure that's where they want to be.

This is what happens when the farm team tries to play in the majors.

October 1, 2010