EDITORIAL:

Two words come to mind when you consider Assemblyman Chuck DeVore’s bid for Sen. Barbara Boxer’s job.

Longshot.

Gumption.

Let’s hope we don’t add “quixotic” to that list.

Consider this: She clobbered former California Secretary of State Bill Jones by 20 points four years ago. (An interesting aside: Remember our very own Judge Jim Gray netted about 1.8% of the vote as a Libertarian in that race.)

So we know this — DeVore’s going to need a mighty big slingshot to take down the Goliath by the Bay.

And he thinks he’s got it in his sense of how to manipulate the new media — just like his new political idol, President-elect Barack Obama.

Wait a second, did we just write that?

Yep. Our very conservative, very Republican assemblyman tells us he was so inspired by the way Obama used social-networking websites, text-messaging, YouTube to get his message to the masses that DeVore will manage his political guerrilla campaign much the same way.

Who knows? Maybe it will work. He’s already been cleverly using a lot of the same tools. And how many of you had even heard of Barack Obama nearly two years ago when he started campaigning, or even a year ago? And now he’s our president.

DeVore has shown as a state lawmaker that he’s happy to work with his Democratic colleagues to get a bill approved, so it shouldn’t surprise anyone that he’s open-minded to a Democrat’s political strategy.

But, we have to admit, it will sure surprise us if he’s able to defeat an entrenched incumbent in very blue California.