Chuck Recovers, But Appears Groggy

Chuck "Is There A Camera In The House?" Schumer recovered from his disorientation over George Bush's sudden spate of good press and delivered a victory lap talk to reporters because Webb won in the Virginia primary.

At a briefing for the Washington, D.C. political press corps today, DSCC chair Chuck Schumer was in a mood to marvel and brag. Last night, with the victory of Jim Webb, Democrats finally found their eighth competitive Senate contest. (Chuck always wanted eight; Dems need to win at least six and keep hold of the roughly four Dem-held seats that are vulnerable.)

Pointing to the victories of Webb, a Reagan Democrat with a flair for non-traditional Democratic positions, and Jon Tester, who spent half as much as his primary challenger in Montana, Schumer said that party activists had turned to pragmatism and were less inclined to hold candidates to litmus tests.

Schumer said the Dem primary voters want winners and are focused one electability. He couldn't resist adding even "in 2008," which pricked the ears of reporters who thought he was sending a message about the relative electability of Hillary Clinton. (He wasn't, apparently.)

I don't follow Virginia politics since I don't live there, but unseating an incumbent these days isn't an easy thing at all. Frankly, Webb's rather juvenile campaign literature doesn't bode well for the chances, either. I suspect Chuck is engaging in a bit of wishful thinking in a reaction to his whack on the head by some good coverage for Bush.

UPDATE: Jim Dean, Howard's brother, is pretty ticked off at Schumer for his remarks about Lieberman.