You have GOT to be kidding me.

Chuck's considering a comeback...

Well, I wouldn't call it a "come back"...

(from Alan Bernstein and Brian Rogers of the Chron)

A day after withdrawing from the District Attorney's race, Chuck Rosenthal said this afternoon he is considering refiling his candidacy.

In his second term, Rosenthal said he had not discussed the matter with Republican leaders. He wouldn't comment beyond that, saying that he is mulling re-entering the race before the deadline expires Friday at 6 p.m.

He also wouldn't comment on whether he supports Assistant District Attorney Kelly Siegler who announced earlier today that she wants his job. Siegler said in her anouncement(sic) that she wouldn't have considered running if Rosenthal hadn't dropped out late Wednesday.

Rosenthal has had several changes of heart since a political scandal over intimitate(sic) e-mails he sent to his administrative secretary erupted last week.

I assume they mean "announcement" and "intimate" (hey Chron, Mozilla offers spell-check INSIDE the browser.

Outside of all that.

Agony and ecstacy depending on which side you sit.

Houtopia weighs in as well (not "giddy" per se but undeniably not sad about this turn of events.)

And, if you're of the Democratic persuasion why wouldn't you be happy? Rosenthal IN the race now is a Republican nightmare. At BEST (for Republicans) he files as a Republican and loses the nomination. But you're still stuck with what will surely be a hotly contested primary that could lead to some bad juju within the DA's office. All of this during a relatively high profile election when Republicans are trying desperately to hold on to Harris County.

The middle option is that Rosenthal runs as a Republican and wins the primary. What that sets up is the best possible scenario for a C.O. Bradford win. Rosenthal would be infinitely more damaged than Bradford, especially if the rumors are true and he is in legal hot water for deleting 2000 e-mails.

Disaster for Republicans would be that he runs an independent campaign. I don't THINK that can happen now because the filing deadline has passed for the primaries, but I'm thinking that an independent COULD still file for the general election, should he be able to gather signatures and pay the fee. Why is this a disaster for Republicans? Because Rosenthal probably would get around 20-30% of the Republican vote. Hail and hello District Attorney Bradford.


All together now:

Republicans: Nooooooo!

Democrats: Yessssss.


Bloggers: Thank you Chuck "kiss you behind the right ear" Rosenthal for the story that keeps on giving.

UPDATE: Kuff puts a dampener on any "independant" fun for Rosenthal. I thought that was the case, but I've seen odder oddities when it comes to filing, so it was worth a mention.