Russ Feingold wants his old job back.

He wants to return to the U.S. Senate and he is going to run against the individual, Ron Johnson, who beat him six years ago.

Feingold is a Democrat; Johnson is a Republican. They want to represent Wisconsin in the Senate. Given the poisonous climate in Washington these days, it’s an excellent bet the two of them aren’t exactly close.

I heard today about Feingold’s decision to run for the Senate and I thought about two Texas foes who fought each other twice electorally back in the 1980s. I know they disliked each other.

Bill Clements became the first Republican elected Texas governor since Reconstruction. He defeated Democratic Gov. Dolph Briscoe in 1978.

Then came 1982 and Clements sought re-election. He ran into Democratic Texas Attorney General Mark White. He lost his bid for a second term.

Clements cooled his jets for four years and then decided to try once again. He ran against White in 1986 and scored a mirror-image victory over the Democratic incumbent.

They had built considerable hard feelings toward each going back to the 1982 campaign, which was understandable if you ever met Gov. Clements. He was an irascible fellow, but could be charming in a kind of surly way. Clements spoke bluntly, often in harsh tones, but he, as they say in the world of print journalism, was “good copy.”

Feingold and Johnson come from the farthest reaches of their respective political parties.

This campaign, assuming they both get nominated, should be fun to watch.