At Least This Democrat Will Win Election ... as Party Chairman

In an unsurprising and uninspiring development, former state Sen. Rod Smith has taken a clear path to the state Democratic Party chairmanship.

The lack of any real competition for the post shows what a thankless job it is. With others bowing out, Smith appears to be the only one who really wanted it.

The Florida Democratic Party may be the biggest under-achiever this side of the Miami Hurricanes. Though holding a 600,000-voter advantage in party registration, Democrats were blown out in the fall election and shut out from the state's four Cabinet offices.

Meantime, the party's "communication director" steadfastly refuses to speak on the record to Sunshine State News about any subject. Ditto for other state Democratic operatives. So much for leveraging free media.

Sen. Bill Nelson, the last statewide Democrat standing, can only hope that his man Smith gets things together by the 2012 election. Right now, it looks like a pretty shaky one-man band.