The Post is debuting a new blog today. And the author, Chris Cillizza, says that Rep. Sherrod Brown (D) may be reconsidering his decision not to challenge Ohio Sen. Mike DeWine (R) next year.

Republicans have taken two tough blows of late on the Senate recruiting front. Gov. John Hoeven won't run against Sen. Conrad in North Dakota. And just today we hear that Rep. Capito won't run against Sen. Byrd.

I was more than a bit stunned a few weeks back when I heard that Rep. Brown wasn't getting into the race against DeWine because, as I was telling a friend yesterday, the only explanation I could see was that Brown, a shrewd pol, simply wasn't confident he could win. And that told me that DeWine was a lot more formidable than his anemic poll numbers would indicate.

If Brown's reconsidering, it could be yet another (albeit more indirect) sign that smart Republicans see the writing on the wall for next year.