Don Walton: So, is it Raimondo or Kleeb?

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OK, let’s do it.

At the end of a brief and puzzling Democratic Senate campaign, it’s time to mark your ballots.

Natural advantage at the beginning: Scott Kleeb, wouldn’t you think?

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Kleeb is the established Democrat, the guy who stood in the spotlight two years ago when he rode the 3rd District congressional trail.

But don’t count newcomer Tony Raimondo out of this one.  Early Democratic concerns about him as a Republican interloper have been substantially reduced.

Jim Esch’s endorsement of Raimondo in Omaha is evidence of that.  Perhaps even more so is the blessing of Anne Boyle, consummate Democrat.

Now it looks like a horse race.

Democratic State Chairman Steve Achelpohl says he wasn’t kidding Saturday night when he declared: “I don’t have a clue who will win.”

Let’s break it down a little.

Raimondo appears to have been more bold than Kleeb in carving out positions during this abbreviated campaign.

Certainly more direct and decisive on the emotional and volatile issue of Iraq, an important concern for many voters.

Kleeb has seemed cautious by comparison. More philosophical and inspirational. 

Raimondo has positioned himself as a candidate uniquely qualified and experienced at a time of economic recession.  His business career has been all about job creation, trade expansion, global competition.

Kleeb appears to be the physical embodiment of change at a time when most voters are disillusioned with business as usual in  Washington and want to pursue a new course. 

It’s not only his comparative youth and appearance, but Kleeb has honed a post-partisan message first shaped during his 2006 congressional bid.

Both  candidates say they’re committed to operating in the middle as political moderates.  Not only open to bipartisan cooperation, they pledge to actively work to achieve it.

This has been a somewhat surprising campaign. More low-key and less urgent and engaging than I would have guessed. Or is it just me?

To the winner goes Mike Johanns, barring the biggest upset in Nebraska political history in Tuesday’s Republican primary.

At that point, the Democratic nominee better be ready to roll.

And be prepared to roll the dice, gamble a little, take some chances. He’s going to need to stir attention, draw contrasts.

It’s not exactly a winning formula to convey the message: Hey, I wouldn’t rock the boat and I’d not vote much differently than Johanns, only I’m a D.

Competing with Johanns will be a steeply uphill climb that requires both boldness and the promise of fundamental change.

So is that Raimondo or Kleeb?

Democratic voters get to make that decision.

More from Hart

Some leftovers from an interview with Gary Hart.

Scoffing at earlier talk about a brokered Democratic national convention, Hart said: “I don’t think there’s a collection of Democratic leaders who could make that decision in a back room. There would be a riot.”

Democratic divisions this year pale in comparison to 1968 and 1972, when the party broke apart over Vietnam, civil rights and cultural issues, Hart said.

“A great cultural upheaval is when it’s hard to put the party back together,” he said, not when the division is essentially generational.

Hart won Nebraska’s Democratic presidential primary election in 1984 with help from a young governor named Bob Kerrey. 

The 1984 results: Hart, 86,582; Walter Mondale, 39,635; Jesse Jackson, 13,495.

Finishing up

* No surprise: Johanns is prepared to draw a sharp contrast with his general election opponent on a number of specific issues once he knows the name of the Democratic winner.

* Ben Nelson says Democrats might find “fertile ground” in their contest with Johanns in 10 Nebraska communities that no longer have federal Farm Service Agency offices and in Hastings and Norfolk, the sites of beleaguered state mental health centers.

* Vic Covalt, who spearheaded Democratic presidential caucuses in Lancaster County that attracted 10,882 participants and added 2,400 registered Democratic voters, says he wants to continue to “build the party from the ground up” as the next Democratic state chairman.

* Let Joba be.

Reach Don Walton at 473-7248 or dwalton@journalstar.com.