It would be hard to miss that the buzz in the 4th Congressional District race is the likely entrance of State Senator Tom McClintock (R - Simi Valley) into the GOP primary.  In a race already turbulent first from polls showing Democrat Charlie Brown had a serious shot at winning, then Congressman John Doolittle's long insistence that he would not step aside, followed by focus on the brewing battle between moderate former Congressman Doug Ose and conservative former State Senator Rico Oller, the McClintock speculation has trumped all stories.

Both FlashReport editor Jon Fleischman and I have written, in acknowledgement of political reality, that Tom McClintock's popularity among conservative activists, high statewide name ID for previous runs, and obvious leadership on many issues, means that Tom could probably move to any district in California and win a GOP primary.

But that doesn't mean he should.

As we all know, Tom represents a Ventura County-based State Senate district in the legislature.  Most also know that his family has long lived with him in the greater Sacramento region, including in Placer County for a period of time.

He has run for statewide office three times, losing narrowly twice.  And I would certainly be remiss if I did not acknowledge his leadership on a whole host of conservative public policy issues.  He's been a champion of lower taxes, fiscal restraint, eliminating waste from government, property rights, and more.  Every legislator votes thousands of times, and I could comb through his long public record and find votes with which I disagree, but that would be a trivial exercise.  Tom McClintock is a leading, perhaps the leading, conservative public policy figure in California.

All of which is entirely irrelevant to whether he should run for Congress in the 4th District, and whether we should welcome him as if he is doing us a favor.

And that's what bothers me about so much of this.  The perception, at least, of an attitude from the McClintock camp that we should all be overjoyed about his likely entry in this race.  Obviously, neither Rico Oller nor Doug Ose lives in the 4th Congressional District either, but at least Ose represented a neighboring district and lived in the greater Sacramento region his whole life, and Oller represented much of the 4th District previously in the state legislature.  Both have spent significant professional time in the private sector, and have some claim to understanding the values of the 4th District.

Meanwhile, for someone who is as anti-government in his rhetoric as Tom McClintock, he sure likes to be on the public payroll.  As articulate as Tom can be sometimes, I find myself wondering if serving as a freshman Congressman from a community he has little ties to is the best that he can do.  Wouldn't you rather see Tom McClintock leading a new, conservative public policy think tank, or as a radio talk show host, spreading his philospohy to thousands if not millions of listeners?

One is left with the inescapable conclusion that McClintock's entry into the 4th District race is about him, and preserving his political career and time in office, and not the people of the Sierra Foothills.

I can also speak with some experience on how good a team player all three leading GOP candidates are.  Rico Oller was part of Curt Pringle's leadership team, and was the epitome of a leader and team player.  I worked with Rico day in and day out, and as I wrote before, he is the kind of guy you'd trust to be in your political foxhole.  

Doug Ose, whom I don't agree with on some important issues, was nonetheless, in my more limited experience, a good team player.  He used his position on a special committee after the California energy crisis to demonstrate that much of the blame fell on former Governor Gray Davis' inaction and wrong action.  And I know Doug's team well from other work, and he has surrounded himself with people I consider to be good folks, including Richard Robinson, Doug Elmets, Marko Mlikotin, and the team at McNally Temple.  Ose won't vote the way I want every time, but as the GOP fights to regain control of the House, I suspect Doug will be part of the team that pitches in.

Meanwhile, if you are honest with yourself, indeed, by factoring in this most recent effort, I have been left with the clear impression over the years that Tom is an individualist who doesn't play well, even with his own team, and seems to prefer to be in the limelight than to winning the fight.  To me, politics is a team sport.

Let me put it this clearly.  From my years of observing Tom McClintock, I'm sad to say that, if confronted with the choice between a public policy win in which some one else gets the credit, or a public policy defeat in which he gets praise or headline, I believe McClintock would choose the latter.

This is all probably moot.

I suspect the decision has already been made..  I don't believe for one second that the Bob Moore poll which started the McClintock campaign was uncoordinated or not part of a plan.  Tom McClintock will likely announce any day now that he is in the race.  I even believe that he will easily win the GOP nomination and then win the general election by a comfortable margin.  While I will stand by Rico Oller in the primary if he stays in the race, certainly in the general election, I will vote for Tom.

But that doesn't mean I have to act like he's doing me a big favor by running here.