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The Irish Eyes Are Smiling

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By STEVE OTTO

sotto@tampatrib.com

Published: March 20, 2009

Bob Buckhorn walked into the thatched-roof Irish refuge called Four Green Fields. He looked briefly and a little longingly at the row of draft beer handles at the bar and then sat down and ordered water.

It's the price of politics, even during St. Paddy's week, when that elusive pot of gold is still another long campaign away.

Most of us, those of us who toil in the real world, don't much care. We have enough to worry about, from whether we will have insurance or just hold on to a job.

We are still recovering from last year's seemingly endless campaign and an aftermath that continues today - from the global economic crisis to cleaning out the local elections office.

We really aren't paying much attention to the sniffs and whispers about future political campaigns - about the timing of certain races and if someone does this, then someone else will do that.

Politics is its own world, peopled by characters unlike the rest of us. They are a strange mix of dreamers and hacks, idealists and some who never could hold a real job. There are some genuinely wonderful people who run for office for the right reasons, and those who cause you to involuntarily reach for your wallet.

Born To Run
Bob Buckhorn is a politician. Like some were born to be pilots or doctors or Indian chiefs, he seems destined to run for office.

He has won. He was once on the Tampa City Council. And he has lost. In 2003 he ran for mayor and got steamrolled - as did the rest of the field - with the late entry of Pam Iorio. That was not a pretty campaign, and not one of Buckhorn's better efforts.

His negative campaigning at the end was unfortunate. Buckhorn is a smart guy with good ideas. He'll never win a charisma contest, but he brings something to the table. He has to be considered one of the early favorites for the next round.

He is willing to take a few jabs at the current mayor, aware of her tremendous popularity, suggesting she is too cautious. "She needs to take a few chances," he says. "Now isn't the time to settle for mediocre ideas."

Like most politicians in waiting for the next race, he is involved. He is on the Tampa Sports Authority and was witness to this week's power play that successfully ousted the authority's leader. He is among those participating in the drive for an elected county mayor.

Plugged In And Naked

He is electrically plugged in and is on all of those social and business computer networks, including Facebook. I was looking at his Facebook page and noticed one of his nearly a thousand "friends" was running a poll on whether people thought Buckhorn was the sort who ever would go skinny-dipping. I don't know the results.

For now, Buckhorn consults and advises others on governmental and other matters while putting together his plans for the coming campaign and sitting at his table at Four Green Fields.

Buckhorn is not alone. Elsewhere, the other early contenders, among them Councilwoman Linda Saul-Sena, County Commissioner Rose Ferlita, former U.S. Rep. Jim Davis, Councilman Tom Scott and even former Commissioner Ed Turanchik, are having their own private discussions with themselves. Shoot, I even heard some were trying to talk Dick Greco into a comeback.

So if you see any of them in some dark corner mumbling to nobody in particular, give them a break. Before they can persuade anyone else, they are going to have to convince themselves it is going to be worth the effort.

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