During election season, few could claim the College Democrats weren�t dedicated to their political mission.

However, since Sen. Barack Obama sailed away on their electoral cruise ship, the College Democrats have been slowly paddling back to shore.

The race for Dane County Board may be as shrug-worthy as a Herb Kohl re-election campaign, but any vacancy should provide well-trained political operatives the opportunity to search through their ranks and find, if not the perfect candidate to run, then at least someone capable enough to lead.

Instead, the College Democrats have failed District 5. The College Dems� endorsement was the sign of an organization effectively neutered on the local level, left blindly grasping for any solid ground as a result of their own apathy.

Let�s set the stage. On Thursday night, the two candidates for District 5, Conor O�Hagan and Wyndham Manning came before 32 other voting College Democrats members and made their cases. For two individuals whose campaigns got off to rocky starts, this was their chance to prove themselves.

In that sense, they also failed. Mr. Manning�s endorsement from Progressive Dane seemed to indicate he�d be the successor to Ashok Kumar�s brand of radical politics, as had his mention of an (so far invisible) �alternative� campaign. Instead, he bowed before these politicians-in-training and seemed to plead for forgiveness for his previous political cynicism while shuffling around mentions of social services and his banner issues of environmental stewardship.

This was not the take-charge negotiator and confident voice I heard in the WUD programming offices this summer, and it wasn�t the idealistic optimism thrown at us during our interview with him. It was just the voice of �a regular guy,� as he claimed. And while that might make a good public servant, it didn�t seem to impress the Dems.

But yet, Mr. O�Hagan did.

And that�s what bewildered me. His speech sounded like something culled from a Comm Arts course as he stumbled over words, sounding rushed and nervous. When he did hit a point, it was so over the top, it became laughable � is Ashok Kumar�s performance really an �atrocity?� Some Dems might say words don�t matter, but imagine a nervous freshman trying to argue for thousands of dollars in funding in front of 36 older, trained supervisors and tell me it�s inconsequential.

But if their own speeches revealed missing floorboards, questions left them bare. Both called the Regional Transit Authority the right move, but neither explained how they would deal with the gap in funding (both locally and federally), making the case to reluctant rural districts and or the logistics of such an undertaking. Instead, the only difference was that Mr. O�Hagan treated the RTA as a helpful little carriage for the student body, while Mr. Manning took the inverse approach, arguing for its use in breaking the bubble that surrounds the Isthmus.

It was Oliver Kiefer, however, who revealed the overriding flaws in both candidates.

�If you guys could have just one policy go through in your two years, just one, what would it be?�

O�Hagan: Funding SAFEride.

While I would like to evaluate these candidates even-handedly, Mr. O�Hagan deserves this criticism: To argue a late-night luxury already funded � albeit less in recent years � by Associated Students of Madison deserves more money from a county board that will likely be held hostage by state and federal financial crises is not only an awful decision, but it reeks of entitlement. If campus safety is a priority, why not stay on ASM and bolster community efforts to curb crime? How about arguing for ASM to increase funding, since we�re the ones using it?

His attempt to compare this to county funds for the Rape Crisis Center is equally appalling and misinformed. First off, ASM didn�t defund RCC, it denied it eligibility � it was not a registered student organization. In that sense, either the county or city should provide a worthy service some financial lift. SAFEride could be expanded, but it is a luxury. Comparing rape counseling to free cab fare is absurd.

Wyndham�s answer wasn�t as maddening, but it was still fatally flawed. For all his talk about bringing manure digesters to Mendota and Monona, his alleged No. 1 priority is an arts advocacy program for rehabilitative purposes. If elaborated on, maybe it�s worthwhile and progressive. But without details, it just sounds like a scenester trying to work his life into policy.

With this absolute train wreck of a meeting reaching its decisive moment, the College Dems send the candidates into the hallway so they can deliberate.

Except, they don�t. There is no discussion. No deliberation of policies, no discussion of their approach, not even a mention of Mr. Manning�s embarrassing pink tie and rumpled shirt. Just explanation of a voting safeguard against the appearance of hand-holding with Progressive Dane. The vote turns out as predicted by campus �experts� � Mr. O�Hagan wins handily.

Based on both candidates� poor performance Thursday, the sensible thing to do would have been to send them a message: District 5 deserves better. But instead, most members justified their vote by saying, �Well, Conor is a student.�

Yeah, well so is Brian Butch. And at least we know he has some skill.

Given the fact that the Executive Board offered no recommendation, six voters were friends of Mr. O�Hagan, and only four members of College Democrats questioned the candidates � two of whom were connected to Mr. O�Hagan�s campaign � their endorsement should be regarded by the campus community as worthless. These were not leaders in local politics, they were 20 or so disinterested observers and friends of both campaigns. Is that an authoritative voice?

They may have empowered individuals during the primary, but this meeting was their olive branch to the campus. �Together, we can direct our collective voice toward both candidates and shout: Fuck it.�

After the meeting, Oliver Kiefer mentioned something very telling when I criticized Mr. O�Hagan�s lack of qualifications: �I think the biggest qualification is that you have to want to do this job.�

Allow me to amend his criteria: The biggest qualification for a political organization to matter is they have to want candidates who can do the job.

If they can�t, maybe they should step aside.

Jason Smathers ([email protected]) is a senior majoring in journalism and history.