Maybe it’s just me, but it seems that if Democratic operatives, including Terry McAuliffe and Donna Brazile, are encouraging Carol Mosely Braun to run for president, their goal must either be to (1) undercut Al Sharpton or (2) generally fracture the African-American vote in a way that reduces its influence in the primaries. The former, at least, is a laudable goal. It’s also possible that they are just eager to get the former senator out of the race against Peter Fitzgerald – their best bet for capturing a GOP Senate seat in 2004 – and afraid of the bad press in the black community if they just tell her to go take a hike.