On Eight Forty-Eight this morning, Steve Edwards suggested in an interview with a representative from the Illinois Republican party (I didn't catch his name, but it's not as though these guys have much of a public face these days anyway) that the GOP might not run a candidate against Barack Obama at all, in the hopes that the lack of interest would supress voter turnout in Illinois and boost the president's chances here.
I think such a strategy is unlikely to work -- the Democratic base may well show up just to vote against George W. Bush -- but more importantly I think it's one of the most cynical political strategies I've ever come across. The GOP spokesman denied they were considering it, insisting they will field a candidate for the election, and I hope he's right. It might seem pathetic that the Republicans can't find a candidate to put forward, but a strategy of supressing the vote would be morally bankrupt as well.
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