The Louisville millionaire has run for congress, U.S. Senate and been part of Ben Chandler's ticket for governor. Owen lost in all three races. He apparently had this year's governor's race under serious consideration, talking to several potential running mates and balking at a potential ticket with Jonathan Miller. But he decided, wisely in my view, to stay away from the governor's race. We don't know Owen's reasons for considering the governor's race or why he decided not to file to run. We don't know because Owen never returned any phone calls from reporters. That leads me to believe his political career is over. Owen has never enjoyed the give-and-take with reporters. Few politicians do. But it appears Owen has developed an unhealthy fear of reporters. That's not a good trait for any politician to have. If you're afraid of the questions reporters might ask or the stories they might write, imagine the fear of what an opponent might say!! We'll see if Owen tries to use his solid work on developing goals and accountability standards for Kentucky's public universities as a springboard into another political race. From my vantage point, I don't think he will.

UPDATE.......Apparently about the same time I was writing this brilliant analysis, Owen was hammering Mitch McConnell in a speech to Louisville's Young Democrats Club and implying that he's seriously considering running for McConnell's U.S. Senate in 2008. Tough chore. We'll see if Owen will return my phone call tonight.