The Hillary Alternative?

Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen is positioning himself as a "Red State" alternative to Hillary Clinton for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination. With his interview published in The Sunday Times of London, Bredesen raises more speculation about his future as "The Anti-Hillary":

Bredesen, a former mayor of Nashville, believes his party has "somehow gotten itself divorced" from the blue-collar constituency it has always relied on for presidential success: "I've always felt the Democratic party was a kind of alliance between the academics and intellectuals and working-class men and women. I think what happened is that in my lifetime, the academics won."

As a result, the governor said, the party had lost its broad appeal. He mocked other Democratic candidates who think connecting with middle America means quoting a few verses from the Bible or being photographed with guns.

Bredesen is a lifelong clay pigeon crackshot, and everyone in Tennessee knows that his attachment to guns is real.

He added: "I think a lot of the time the answer they are looking for is 'Oh, if you just quote Matthew, Mark, Luke or John once in your speech' that somehow everyone will think you're one of them."

Bredesen's success in Tennessee is well-documented:

-- He holds a 60 percent approval rating in a state where George W. Bush beat John Kerry by 14 points. The Sunday Times calls him a "shoo-in" for re-election next year.
-- As governor, he has worked to reform the public health system, despite resistance from his own party. (He made his mark founding his own health-care management company before selling it off in 1986.)
-- He also is credited with improving the state's overall economic health -- without raising taxes.
-- As mayor of Nashville, he did much to improve the city's cultural offerings, including recruiting the NFL's Tennessee Titans, building the Gaylor Entertainment Center and building a new downtown library.
-- He is not a political "wunderkind," and his history proves he can rebound from setbacks. In 1987, he lost a race to become Nashville's mayor -- followed by a defeat in a congressional election. However, in 1991, he sought the mayor's office again and won. He then lost a bid for governor in 1994, yet rebounded to win a second term as Nashville's mayor. In 2002, he easily won the Democratic Party nomination for governor and defeated Republican Congressman Van Hilleary 50.6 percent to 47.6 percent in the general election.