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Seems that in spite of the attempts of some folks to present his candidacy as a loser in progress, Harold Ford Jr is looking like a winner, or at least a tie-er. One supporter who blogs about Jr has collected the pertinent data here. Before I go on, a disclosure. My father taught Ford Sr and Ford uncle when he was a college professor. I'm aquainted with Jr from my days working Clinton/Gore. Now, these numbers aren't all that surprising. With Ford Jr's name recognition, connections, and national stature (Don Imus' favorite black man, apparently) fund raising was going to be a cake walk for him, especially with no other serious (sorry Kurita kids) primary competition. He's as centrist as any Tennessee Democrat with hopes of winning a statewide election should be. He has the kind of diction that makes white people call him "well spoken." He's got nice hair. Were he working for say, Bass, Berry and Sims, there's probably a few conservatives in this state who wouldn't mind (too much) if he took their daughter on a date. All that to say all things being equal, with weak, divided (at the moment) and scared Republicans lining up on the other side, he should be planning his victory celebration allready. Two words: Harvey Gantt. Y'all good liberals remember him, right? He ran against Jesse Helms for Senate, twice. The last time, Gantt was LEADING going into the last week in every poll. He ended up losing by 10%. Need I say more? Well, one more thing, Helms team ran an ad that last week about Affirmative Action. Perhaps it wasn't a scale tipper, just a subtle reminder. This doesn't mean that Democrats go running out to find a "winner." No. It means when Ford wins the nomination from the party, Dems and Independants who vote for him should work that much harder during the general election. Don't just assume he's going to lose because of his race. Keep that subtle reminder in your head. Remember Harvey Gantt.