I was struck by this description in the WaPo's feature on Dede Scozzafava this morning:

Around 6 p.m., she and her husband pulled over at a Stewart's convenience store on the rainy drive home from her Watertown campaign office. An aide called with dismal poll numbers. For hours, they sat, with Scozzafava staring at the windshield wipers going back and forth. Her husband counted the people using the convenience store's ATM to pass the time. Mostly, she just cried.

Now, far be it for me to suggest that Scozzafava isn't allowed to have some moment of emotional weakness during what was (I'm sure) an overwhelming and ultimately unkind whirlwind through the national spotlight. But to sit "for hours" staring out the window and crying? That doesn't exactly cut a profile in courage, nor is it suggestive of the type of disposition one might hope for in our elected leaders.

A related point: note that the only reason we have this image of Scozzafava's hours-long pity party is because she willingly provided it to the Washington Post reporter.  Did she think it painted a flattering portrait of her, or that it would possibly endear her to readers? That's just shockingly bad PR judgment.

The episode with the WaPo fits neatly in with the list of egregious missteps piled up by her campaign. Set aside all the ideological arguments about Scozzafava's demise in NY-23 and what it means or doesn't mean.  The one thing that's inarguable is that Scozzafava was a terrible candidate who had more than a small hand in her own undoing.