David Smith: NOW He Tells Us (”Deceiving From the Very Start” Edition)

US Senate candidate David Smith (left), pictured with a Smithbot

Sometimes it pays to go back to the beginning. This is one such time.

The December 1 Cincinnati Enquirer Invisibler had a story about David Smith’s announcement of his US Senate candidacy the previous evening.

In light of all that has happened in this campaign, the third paragraph of the story is a sight to behold:

The Mason man has only one political race under his belt - a candidacy for the 2nd Congressional District GOP nomination in the special primary election held in June. Smith finished ninth in an 11-candidate field, with only 374 votes out of nearly 40,000 cast.

(Aside: It was 362 out of 45,682; but who’s counting?)

From the very beginning, it would appear, David “NOW he tells us” Smith did not want us to know about his 2004 congressional run in Tennessee, or his candidacy for a congressional nomination at the 2002 Utah GOP state convention. And by not revealing those two political runs, Smith could thus avoid discussing the relatively short length of time he had resided in the state of Ohio (at most, just over a year and a few months at the time of his announcement).

Now it’s possible that reporter Howard Wilkinson may have assumed, based on Smith’s weak performance in the 2005 Second District Primary (including, by my evaluation, an 8th place performance at the June 3 Values Forum out of 11 candidates from both parties present — an evaluation that took place before I knew Bill Pierce, or before I ever encountered a Smithbot), that he had “only one political race under his belt.” I have e-mailed and left a voice message for Mr. Wilkinson in the hope that he will tell me whether he assumed this or was specifically told that this would be Smith’s second race. Given how rough I have been on the Enquirer Invisibler during this campaign season, I’m not at all confident that I will get a response.

But even if Wilkinson made an assumptive mistake, David Smith certainly read the article (you would be sure to read it if it were YOUR first Senate run), and should have made sure that the record was correct from the very start.

This is yet more proof, as if we needed any, that this has been a disgraceful candidacy from the very beginning, and yet more evidence that David Smith should withdraw from the race while he still has at least a shred of hope for a future in politics — anywhere.