The Mystery Candidate

After my post on Dana Milbank’s “Mystery Candidate” column this morning, my inbox received a steady stream of e-mail with people positing their guesses. I’ve come to the conclusion that my initial guess was wrong, so let’s do this by elimination.

My first guess was this is Santorum, but Frist popping in to pump him up doesn’t make sense. I’m fairly certain it’s a challenger, in a targeted seat, from a state that leans pretty Democrat.

That left me with Washington, Maryland, New Jersey, and Minnesota. There were a lot of guesses that it’s Steele, but my bet is he’s smarter than that. It would explain the Frist fly-by, but Steele is getting to much help from the national committee and the administration to blow it all. Given that Frist will know who he plugged at lunch, it’s probably not Steele.

So looking at the other details we have – his dress, his meal choice, his general outlook on life – my guess is it’s Tom Kean from New Jersey. McGavick doesn’t seem to fit the bill of impeccable dresser, Kennedy is a sitting Congressman, so I don’t think he’d heap scorn on Congress’ inability to do anything – he’d blame it on the Dems, and Steele doesn’t strike me as the four-minute egg type.

Given McKean’s state, relation to the Chairman of the 9-11 Commission, and other ties to the party, he can’t really go on the record, yet he seems, to me at least, to fit the bill here.

So that’s my guess… Thoughts?

UPDATE: Apparently Steele’s not as smart as I thought. ABC News is reporting the Maryland Senate hopeful is indeed Candidate X. My hopes for that guy are ruined. He ignored the greatest rule of Washington – this town is full of smart people who love to solve a mystery.

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