Washington Post: "In Calif., Charlie Brown Could Have The Last Laugh"

It's amazing what endurance can do. No one in Washington believed one year ago that this race is viable. Now, two weeks before the election, the Washington Post has a lengthy article on Charlie Brown's prospects. An excerpt:

There are two types of candidates: the obvious ones, who are recruited to run in key races and get lots of financial and organizational help, and the bootstrap cases, who do it all on their own. Usually these second-tier candidates run and lose in obscurity. But sometimes they get lucky. If a wave breaks next month, Brown is one of many bootstrap Democrats who could be washed into Congress.

The latest polls show that Brown, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel, has pulled within striking distance of Doolittle, whose well-documented ties to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff may be an albatross. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is increasingly optimistic about Brown's chances and has chipped in an undisclosed amount of cash for the final push. Brown has scooped up local newspaper endorsements and raised $750,000, much of it in recent weeks.

The one person who isn't surprised by this turn of events is Brown, who ignored all the naysayers and trusted his gut that Doolittle could be beaten. The latest news to break his way: Doolittle's campaign reported more than $38,000 in legal fees in his third-quarter fundraising report that are related to a federal investigation into Abramoff's lobbying activities. A Doolittle spokeswoman said the congressman was attempting to be helpful and had not been contacted by prosecutors, but the disclosure put Doolittle on the defensive with weeks to go.

I'd really like to post more since the article in its entirety is really great but there's something called copyright. So, go over to the Washington Post and read it all.

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