By Virtual Campaign Announcement, I Think He Means the Real Announcement of a Virtual Campaign, and Not the Virtual Announcement of a Real Campaign...

...for the moment, at least.

Robert Walsh, executive director of the Rhode Island Chapter of the National Education Association, has announced, er, something in a diary entry over at Rhode Island's Future…

By now, many of you are asking yourselves a simple question – is Bob Walsh crazy enough to actually consider running for Governor, or is he up to something else? Would Rhode Island voters even vote for a Brown graduate, former banker, East Greenwich resident for Governor? Could a candidate with deep roots in both the labor and progressive communities win a multicandidate Democratic primary against so many current office holders at a time when people are so cynical about anyone currently holding elected office? How about an actual campaign organization – does he have the contacts with the experienced campaign managers, fundraisers and field operatives to actually make this work? How would he hold up in debates...

Maybe 2010 won’t be my year to run for Governor, and this will actually be my attempt to create a forum where issue-by-issue, a real discussion can be held in the virtual Rhode Island Future world about the development of a real progressive campaign platform, so that can become the standard by which progressives judge the many candidates vying for our support. Maybe some of those candidates will even adopt ides developed right here.

Keep the commentary civil folks.