Democrat consultant Donna Brazile told HUMAN EVENTS she wouldn't seek her party's leadership post at the Democratic National Committee, and declined to offer an endorsement, calling the current slate of candidates inadequate.
"The current list of candidates, in my judgment, are not up to the task, but we'll see what emerges in the next couple weeks," said Brazile, who was a panelist Tuesday at a liberal strategy session organized by the Center for American Progress.
As for herself, Brazile said the rumors that she might seek the position are false. Brazile was former Vice President Al Gore's campaign manager in 2000 and she later went to work as head of the DNC's Voting Rights Institute during the 2004 campaign.
"I never had any interest, never expressed any interest and I don't have any interest in doing it," Brazile told HUMAN EVENTS about the DNC job. "When you've been a campaign manager, when you've been as deeply involved as I have with the DNC, you know the structural changes that are needed. You don't need a mechanic, you need someone who can go in there and clean house."
The party's current chairman, Terry McAuliffe, said earlier this year he wouldn't seek re-election to the post when the DNC holds its meeting in February. The DNC's 447 members must pick a new chairman at that time.
Besides Brazile, two other prominent Democrats also withdrew from consideration this week. Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, a possible presidential candidate in 2008, and Alexis Herman, a secretary of Labor under former President Bill Clinton, said they weren't interested.
The New York Times reported Tuesday that possible candidates include former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, former Clinton chief of staff Harold Ickes, former Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk, former Denver Mayor Wellington Webb, New Democratic Network President Simon Rosenberg, and former YES Network Chairman Leo Hindery, Jr.
After withholding her endorsement Tuesday, Brazile told HUMAN EVENTS she hopes other Democrats step forward in the coming weeks, and those currently in the running accentuate their plans.
"The election is not until February 10," she said. "We have a lot of people who are actively running, and they should be given every opportunity to develop a platform and agenda that will do the job of cleaning up the party."
