And what he said leads me to believe that he's trying to figure out a way to play a big role in this year's governor's race, perhaps as an attack dog for the eventual democratic party nominee. Owen laid out the highlights of his tuesday night speech to the Louisville Young Democrats. According to Owen, his presentation focused on the good qualities of each of the party's major democratic candidates for governor. But the portion that garnered the most post game water cooler talk was Owen's attack on U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell. Owen says he laid out the case for defeating McConnell in '08, mainly focusing on McConnell's self stated allegiance to George W. Bush and the continuing U.S. presence in Iraq. When I asked Owen if he might run against McConnell, he ducked the question. But I eventually got him to say that he "wouldn't rule it out".

If Owen is serious about a possible run for U.S. Senate, the time to lay the groundwork is now, to show the democratic pols he's serious this time. That's what it sounds like the millionaire Louisville businessman is about to do.