Ryan should play hard to get

Former Vice President Al Gore's endorsement last week of Howard Dean, the ex-governor of Vermont bidding for the Democratic nomination for president, makes Congressman Tim Ryan's earlier endorsement of Dean almost inconsequential.
But that isn't necessarily a bad thing. It means Ryan can hide in Dean's campaign bandwagon that is now almost certain to attract a crowd of Democratic members of Congress. Why hide? Because there's nothing to be gained -- at least for the Mahoning Valley -- by this freshman legislator's support of a candidate who may be the front-runner today but could well end up a loser after the major primary states have had a say.
Ryan's public embrace of Dean suggests an impetuousness of youth that is disturbing. Why would a representative from the heavily Democratic 17th Congressional district in Ohio not play hard to get, considering the infancy of the presidential election and the fact that the field still boasts a slew of participants, including several members of Congress?
The Niles resident, who won last year's congressional race after a brief stint in the Ohio Senate and with little real-world job experience, hasn't had time to establish his political credentials in Washington or in Ohio. He's nothing more than a first-termer whose voting record puts him squarely in the Democratic camp and illustrates his strong ties to labor.
Political myopia
Given the Mahoning Valley's political myopia, Ryan is assuring himself a long tenure in Congress. Democratic voters in the area would rather keep a crooked politico in office, as they did with James A. Traficant Jr., or support someone with a tissue-thin r & eacute;sum & eacute;, as they did with Ryan, than vote for a qualified Republican.
But what good does it do this region to be viewed as a Democratic stronghold when Republicans remain firmly in control of the Senate and the House? Also, the chances of Republican President Bush's winning re-election next year are that much greater if Dean is the Democratic nominee.
Ryan, who had worked as an intern for former congressman-turned federal prisoner Traficant should have borrowed a page from his mentor's political game book.
Traficant went to Congress in 1985 with the same allegiance to the Democratic Party that Ryan now displays but learned very quickly that flexibility was the name of the game.
Thus, he refused to endorse in Democratic presidential primaries and even in general elections would not embrace the party nominee without first eliciting promises of support for the region. Traficant himself ran for the Democratic nomination one year, and although his candidacy was barely a blip on the national radar screen, he did attract the attention of Ohio party leaders and political writers.
Thus, when he went to the convention with one delegate pledged to him, he was still a story for state scribblers and even got a brief mention in some national publications when he refused to release his delegate until the very end.
What did all that get Traficant? A meeting with operatives of the Democratic nominee during which he was able to articulate the myriad problems confronting the Mahoning Valley.
In 2000, Traficant again refused to endorse in the Democratic primary, but by then no one wanted to be associated with him since he was the target of a criminal investigation by the federal government. His refusal to embrace Gore in the general election certainly didn't offend the then vice president.
Opportunity
But what Traficant's absence from the presidential sweepstakes did do was cause the Ohio Republican Party to view the region as an opportunity to make inroads. Thus, after the Republican convention, the Bush campaign train made a brief stop in downtown Youngstown.
The Republican nominee held a meet-and-greet with local elected officials and business leaders
Shortly after he became president, Bush announced that Youngstown would receive the first renewal community zone designation in the country. Tax breaks and other economic incentives are available for businesses that locate in the zone.
Would Bush have stopped in Youngstown had Traficant been a vocal, active supporter of Gore's? Probably not.
By jumping on Dean's bandwagon so early, Ryan has not only alienated himself from the other Democratic presidential hopefuls, but has served notice to the White House that he isn't worth pursuing.
Ryan should have played hard to get.