Noriega's eyes on wrong ball

Houston Chronicle:

The departure of San Antonio lawyer Mikal Watts from the U.S. Senate race Tuesday gives Houston state Rep. Rick Noriega a possible clear run for the Democratic nomination and a general election challenge to Republican U.S. Sen. John Cornyn.

Noriega has a personal story of service in the Legislature and in the National Guard in Afghanistan that his campaign hopes could make him a compelling candidate against Cornyn.

But the question now is whether enough national Democratic campaign cash would make it into Noriega's coffers next year to give him a realistic shot at defeating Cornyn in what some describe as the reddest of the red states.

Noriega said he is not worried as much about how to run the campaign as to make sure it stays focused on "the junior senator," as he refers to Cornyn.

"I've got buddies dying. There are folks in Iraq who are on their third tour. I wish we could keep our eye on the ball," Noriega said Tuesday.

"My personal experiences and having walked the walk in a lot of these venues brings it home for regular Texans. Money is not the end-all," Noriega said. "We will have what we need to tell our story and tell regular Texans that the junior senator has done a poor job."

...

If this is his spiel he is in real trouble. Those guys on their third tour are doing a fantastic job and are winning the war and Noriega sounds like the kind of Democrat who would give that sacrifice away and allow the enemy to win a war he has already lost. His criticism of Cornyn is also misplaced. Sen. Cornyn has been one of the best senators in Washington. He has consistently held Democrats to account for their misguided policies and their attempt to thwart the constitutional process on judges.