If his endorsements were actually working for him then Peter Franchot would have already won. Instead everybody seems to be sitting back. I am wondering if Peter has demoralized his progressive supporters when he joined machine politicians Jack Johnson and Al Wynn.

Peter should have made more use of the progressive network that he assembled during the last four years. They are his people. They would have worked for him. Cronies and thugs will not.

Actually, I think Congressman Wynn's and Jack Johnson's endorsement of Peter speaks well of him. We all know he is a big-time liberal, its good to see he can work with pragmatists.

Clearly they feel he's more than just a mouthpeice but can actually do something.

Yockel, I think your comment is a little naive. No one can win a statewide Democratic primary by relying solely on the liberal wing of the party. Should Franchot refuse any endorsement of and callously ignore the importance of people like Jack Johnson and Al Wynn in the Democratic Party? Clearly, both of them have some skeletons in their closets, and Wynn especially is no progressive. But, they're establishment players and for them to put themselves out on a limb to help Franchot says a lot. Electing a state delegate from Takoma Park by unseating William Donald Schaefer is going to take every last inch and every last vote, and I think there's a point where we have to be pragmatic. Would I vote for Wynn or Johnson? Begrudgingly perhaps, but politics makes strange bedfellows, and if they'll help elect a real progressive as Comptroller that's fine by me.

thank goodness our time here on Earth is temporary!

Kenneth--a real progressive as Comptroller? Do you know what the Comptroller does? I didn't realize there was a progressive method of accounting (well, maybe there is--but I'd have to check with Franklin Raines), or a progressive method of issuing income tax refunds, or a progressive method of paying state employees.

Why has there apparently been no mention in the Post or the Maryland Moment (especially in a post entitled "Endorsements All Around") about Keiffer Mitchell's endorsement of William Donald Schaefer? That sure strikes me as newsworthy--certainly no less newsworthy than the endorsement of Franchot mentioned above.

Ben Cardin must be thrilled that the political leper that is Parris Glendening is endorsing Mfume. That might be the most significant endorsement news of Cardin's campaign.

Ben Cardin must be very happy that the political leper that is Parris Glendening is endorsing Mfume. This might be the best endorsement-related news that Cardin gets.

Oops! Darn you Bill Gates and your buggy web browser. Sorry folks, got some error message after the first post.

As for Comptroller, what does it mean to have a "progressive" bean counter? They collect revenue and pay the state's bills.

That's a good point about the comptroller's duties. I keep getting automated calls from Franchot stressing his support of abortion rights, his stances on education, etc. But what does all that have to do with being comptroller?

I think he probably hopes to use the office as a stepping stone to governor or something else higher.

Kenneth, Peter has legions of endorsers. If it were up to endorsements then Peter's election would already be in the bag.

His problem is that most of his endorsers do nothing.

Endorsers need to give money, send mailers to their supporters, and promote their candidate. I am not seeing that.

There are people who would have been willing to work for Peter. Unfortunately, he has failed to activate them. Peter has been doing a great job assembling progressives at his summits. But he has not followed through when it comes to building a campaign organization.

Johnson and Wynn are not going to do that for him. They are paying lip service to his candidacy but they aren't working for Peter. They don't want to work for Peter and if they wanted to Wynn and Johnson couldn't. Wynn's problem is that his machine has disintegrated because his people cannot agree on a number of local races. He'll win his primary but beyond that he is in no position to deliver anything.

On top of that Wynn and Johnson have huge negatives, especially among Peter's base. Prince George's progressives used to be excited about Peter Franchot for Comptroller. Not anymore. Peter has divided his base for machine politicians without a machine. That's a net loss.

Peter's losses in Prince George's reach beyond his progressive base.

Right now there is only one guy working on the comptroller's race in Prince George's: Wayne Curry. He is working for Janet Owens. Since Peter has paired up with Jack, Curry has no time for him anymore.

Unless Peter can pull it off with media, he will not carry Prince George's County. I wish it were otherwise but wishes don't define reality.