Reply #19: Excellent points. It seems many DUers forget why Dennis lost re-election.

[Alexander]

Yes, he was anti-big business and anti-corruption, however he was young, impatient, demanding, petulant, and by all accounts just not mature enough to handle the job. He started problems and fights with people in his own party so much (including some famed walk-outs) that it's no surprise he nearly got recalled.

Wellstone, by contrast, was always admired by people on both sides of the aisle. He had the ability to make an issue appeal to your political beliefs, no matter what they were, and wasn't nearly as big of a bomb-thrower as Kucinich.