It's like E-Harmony or Match.com. The core belief is that the one perfect person has to be out there somewhere.

Right?

(INSERT PLAINTIVE SIGH HERE)

The Hawai'i Democratic Party continues to search for a soul mate.

Meanwhile, they're going on a lot of starry-eyed blind dates and facing the pain of rejection.

Walter Dods 4-ever

Scratch out. He no like.

Neil Abercrombie + us

Scratch out. No way he's leaving D.C.

We 'heart' Tony Gill

Erase. Erase. The guy's too smart for that one.

As each person whose name was floated has respectfully declined, they have somehow risen in esteem. When they say no, they take on the allure of the hard-to-get. As with a potential prom date, aloofness is so intriguing.

When retired banker Dods cited his family's wish for privacy as a reason not to run, it was like, "Wow, a strong family man like that would make a great governor!"

When attorney Gill demurred, saying, "I'm not the candidate for this term. ... It's a little tough to reach down into the second string and pull out somebody like me," his self-deprecation came off as charming. That would be nice in a state leader. For a change.

When retired police chief Lee Donohue announced he was going to pass on a run for governor, saying, "I'm a policeman, not a politician," he became the very model of a level-headed man who knows both his strengths and his weaknesses. You wish all the candidates were so self-aware and honest.

Sigh.

They never looked so desirable until they said no.

The Democratic Party is reaching to the underclassmen names at this point: Brian Schatz, Kirk Caldwell, Brickwood Galuteria.

Well, maybe someday they'll be the political dreamboats, the big dudes on campus, but right now, that's the JV team.

Randy Iwase? Didn't he leave the city council mid-term to run for mayor? Didn't he leave the state senate to take an appointed gig? Not quite a trail of broken hearts, but still, a track record.

And to top it all off, Harry Kim won't commit.

But as desperate as the party is, they're not that desperate. Note the names that have not been mentioned, like Mazie Hirono and Matt Matsunaga, who is dressing more like Jake Shimabukuro than a state politician these days. Colleen Hanabusa's name has been mentioned as a candidate for governor — by Colleen Hanabusa.

Maybe the Hawai'i Democratic Party should just run an online ad already:

Wanted for long-term relationship. Must be kama'aina, have clean driving abstract and no criminal history. Public high school street cred preferred. Name recognition is key. For fun, profit, whatever.

Lee Cataluna's column runs Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Reach her at 535-8172 or lcataluna@honoluluadvertiser.com.