I know I can't be the only Democrat who was more than a little peeved that he waited for so long in 2008 to announce that he would not be running for Senate. It was a costly tease--by that point Bob Tuke had said he wouldn't challenge McWherter in the primary, but the announcement forced Tuke to rush back in and build up an operation with very little time. I still don't think Tuke would have necessarily beaten Lamar! even if given a better opportunity, but there's no doubt that McWherter's delay hurt his chances. So what's he going to do now? Is he actually going to run, or is he going to "wait and see" again? I have no patience for this level of indecisiveness. I may sound cliche or like a broken record by now, but time is a luxury we do not have in the 2010 cycle. Berke, McMillan, and Ward Cammack may not be household names at this point, but at least they're out there doing something! In light of recent history, as of now I don't consider Mike McWherter a real candidate for Governor; I think that the "insiders" quoted in the article are at best merely speculating. If he is a real candidate, let's see some papers and some fundraising first.

Kim McMillan's quest for the Tennessee governor's office enters a new phase effective today. The Clarksville Democrat is making it official that she will seek her party's nomination to succeed Gov. Phil Bredesen in 2010, she told The Leaf-Chronicle. "I'm no longer exploring a run for governor. I am now officially in the race. I'm in it to win it," McMillan, now 47, said.

The only Democratic candidate to file as a full-fledged candidate so far is Ward Cammack of Nashville, an owner-manager in the investment firm Diversified Trust Co. Former House Majority Leader Kim McMillan set up an "exploratory campaign" last April.

It's that "looking back" season - when we assess, summarize and categorize. I've had some good times these past few days looking back on a great year. Since we launched the Kim McMillan for Governor Exploratory Campaign last April we've already visited over half of Tennessee's 95 counties - travelling literally from Memphis to Mountain City --- getting Tennesseans talking again. Yes, we've made a lot of stops in a lot of towns, but we've been making much more than stops on a map, we've been making friends. I know that politics and policies mean nothing apart from the people. Thank you - thank you from a place inside of me that doesn't come across well on a computer. Tennesseans are saying that times are tough but they're also saying we've met tough times before and nobody's better able than the sons and daughters of Tennessee to handle them. I know that city budgets, county budgets, state budgets, school board budgets, and much more importantly, personal household budgets are being stretched and bent, but ultimately we will not be broken. We're in this together - when one Tennessean struggles, we all feel the pain. We're in this together, and together we'll find new ways to make new days we've not even yet dared to dream about. We really are in this together! And, together we can do much more than just "make it through," we can "make it better." I've got to tell you, looking back makes me want to look forward! Kim

What I think she wants to say is that she supported the income tax because it was the right thing to do, but the voters of Tennessee are such sheep that they really believe a regressive sales tax is better for them. But of course, she can't say this, so I will.

McMillan, who filed papers Monday creating an exploratory committee to seek the Democratic nomination for governor in 2010, said she supported the income tax because she was following the will of her constituents, who live on the border with Kentucky, which has no sales tax on food. “When I had to choose between a plan that would allow us to remove the sales tax on food and make us competitive with Kentucky or increase the overall sales tax with no benefit to anybody, I think that was the choice that I took at that time in line with what the constituents of the 67th District told me that they thought was more appropriate,” McMillan said. McMillan’s entrance into the Democratic race for governor will provide the first test of how Tennesseans react to a statewide candidate who openly pushed for a state income tax. Since the great fight over a state income tax from 1999 to 2002, no candidate has run for statewide office who openly advocated for the income tax.