Glenn Reynolds of Instapundit.com (and a UoT law professor) has a piece today in the WSJ asking if Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen is a viable presidential candidate for the democrats in 2008. It’s a name we don’t hear much, and it’s fun to speculate about, so check out the article.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The Democrats have noticed that senators and Northeasterners don’t do especially well in presidential elections. That has led to some talk of running a governor from the South in 2008, but Southern Democratic governors are in short supply.

Of those who remain, my governor, Phil Bredesen, is starting to get some attention. A while back, The Economist of London called him a governor with a CEO approach. And The New Republic recently made him the subject of a cover story focusing on his ability to win over the opposition. But should he decide to run for president in 2008, his biggest problems may come from his fellow Democrats.

Right now he’s well-liked, having replaced an unpopular Republican governor who made repeated efforts to pass a state income tax. Those efforts provoked near riots as anti-tax protestors mobbed the Capitol (one man brought a bucket of tar and a bag of feathers), and the income tax died a painful death. That, however, left Tennessee with serious financial problems. Education — especially higher education — was underfunded, and the TennCare health insurance program, a sort of HillaryCare-lite, was devouring the state budget.

Gov. Bredesen met the problems head-on, with 9% across-the-board spending cuts and a novel approach: He said what he was going to do, and then he did it. His first fiscal year ended with the state in surplus, and the “rainy day fund” is at its highest level in history.

The Llama Butchers says this sounds a lot like the same qualities Virginia Governor Mark Warner has.

Bill Hobbs says there are some things Glenn is not mentioning (HT: Whitehouse 2008).

Bredesen’s policy failures, broken promises, irresponsible spending and outbursts of condescension toward small-business and social conservatives are roundly ignored.