SHE CAN'T EVEN GET THE COLOUR RIGHT!

Congresswoman Katherine Harris (D - Sarasota) kicked off her campaign for the U.S. Senate Tuesday, and will continue her so-called "listening" tour today.

The St. Petersburg Times political blog The Buzz has a couple of interesting bits from her announcement in Sarasota. Among those in attendance was Judicial Watch founder and previous Senate candidate Larry Klayman, who noted that Ms. Harris was "a conservative candidate with a very positive message." He couldn't say the same for any of the GOP hopefuls in the governor's race, telling Adam C. Smith that there isn't an appealing Republican running.

And when she appeared in Bartow as part of her kickoff tour, she addressed the question of wheather some Republicans would allow her to have a "straight shot" against incumbant Democrat Bill Nelson:

"Do I expect a straight shot? I don't know. And you know what? I don't care. I'm in the race. We're going to work hard, we're going to run hard. We think we'll outwork, outraise and hopefully outvote anybody else that gets in."

It's no secret that GOP operatives --- including, reportedly, some within the White House --- have been seeking other Republicans to make the run. Florida House Speaker Allan Bense (R - Panama City) announced last week that he would not run. Among others reportedly approached were retired General Tommy Franks and Congressman Mark Foley (R - Jupiter).

Florida Democratic Party chairperson Karen Thurman is like me, wishing she could have been a fly on the wall in the White House:

"I really would have liked to have heard some of the conversations that have been taking place about this race in the White House. It has to cloud her candidacy in the fact that you still get reports that they're still out there looking for somebody."

And Harris didn't mind making fun of herself, what with all the comedy being mined from her claim last week that newspapers had altered her photograph in an unflattering manner. Remembering her youth in Bartow, "keeping in touch with my girlfriends, dreaming about the big dance, and hoping we would be asked. And of course that was all back in the time when blue eye shadow was quite fashionable."

And referring to conservative columnist Robert Novak, who used the word "bull***t" during a discussion of Harris' running with former Clinton aide James Carville --- and getting suspended from CNN as a result --- Ms. Harris said:

"Bob Novak, my good friend and defender, I sure do wish he were here. But I think he's still locked in a blue room somewhere.''

Hey, Kat...they call it a GREEN room!