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"No, Bill Simon's worst enemy was Gerry Parsky, who virtually ran Simon's campaign into the ground."

I'd rank Parsky high up there, but Simon is still responsible for his own campaign. He did a marvelous job in the primary, ran a sunny upbeat campaign filled with Reaganesque can-do spirit, then allowed Parsky and pals to jettison the entire primary message, the team, and all the campaign's grassroots foot-soldiers.

I have little respect for chief executives (and chief executive wannabes) who don't accept responsibility for their enterprise's foundering on the shoals of ineptitude. Simon absented himself from the state for a vacation just as Parsky was making his first maneuvers. Bad, bad judgment. Many of us were screaming, but on this just as with the Hindelang problem he didn't want to hear: As an outsider who'd stunned the establishment with an absolute steamroller of electoral support, he needed to quickly move to consolidate his grip on the Party he'd crashed. Instead he went to roast on a beach somewhere. Dumb, dumb, dumb. Fatal tactical error. He returned to the state to find he was now just a hood ornament on Parsky, Inc.

So, I hear what you're saying, but Simon let it happen. Rookie mistake. Reagan would never have let his campaign get away from him like that. That's the difference between a self-made, seasoned union negotiator well-versed in the Machiavellian machinations of Hollywood and a silver-spoon venture capitalist daddy's boy too used to getting what he wants.

I hope someone writes a book about it. "How to Absolutely Pwn the Primary and Then Give Your RINO Enemies the Rope They Need to Hang You (and then Nay-Say Every Subsequent Conservative Who Comes Down the Pike Forevermore, Amen)."

I'd rank Parsky high up there, but Simon is still responsible for his own campaign.

Parsky controlled the money. He refused to fund GOTV. He forced Sal Russo into forging Simon's signature on the Log Cabin letter. He specified Wilson/Jones as a campaign consultant, along with Ed Rollins of bogus photo fame.

I have little respect for chief executives (and chief executive wannabes) who don't accept responsibility for their enterprise's foundering on the shoals of ineptitude.

I've never heard Simon complain.

As an outsider who'd stunned the establishment with an absolute steamroller of electoral support, he needed to quickly move to consolidate his grip on the Party he'd crashed. Instead he went to roast on a beach somewhere. Dumb, dumb, dumb.

Totally agreed. He had enough of his own cash to keep that steamroller going.

So, I hear what you're saying, but Simon let it happen.

Yup. The mistakes of a neophyte, and too nice a guy.