You've got to be awfully fainthearted to get into the Fainthearted Faction when you're not even in Congress.

But some men are up to the challenge.

Gov. Ed Rendell (D) of Pennsylvania, for instance, was an early entrant to the Fainthearted Faction. That was way back on January 1st after an extremely fainthearted appearance on Hardball on the 29th.

(Andrea Mitchell was the guest host that night. So there may have been some Greenspanian mojo in the air that contributed to the governor's bout of faintheartedness.)

But on the basis of this still vaguely fainthearted talk at the University of Pennsylvania and his appearance on Monday night's Hardball we've decided to strike his name from the Faction roll.