THE BURNED OVER DISTRICT

Now that George Pataki has thrown his hat into the GOP Clown Car, he needs to expend all his energy reminding people who he once was. He could use a revival of the old AmeEx ads which asked "Do you know who I am?".

Mr. Pataki spends a lot of time these days reminding voters that he used to run the State of New York. The former three-term governor faces vast obstacles in his bid for the Republican presidential nomination, but none may be more daunting than the electorate’s fleeting memory.

In a political culture that prizes novelty and high drama, Mr. Pataki is a genial, low-key campaigner who left office nearly a decade ago, and sounds like it. Addressing small groups of voters, Mr. Pataki repeatedly invoked his upset 1994 win over Gov. Mario M. Cuomo, “that great liberal icon,” holding up an election more than 20 years old as proof of his political mettle. Advertisements running on television here feature the same victory.

Of all the candidates running this year, Mr. Pataki, 70, may be the most awkward match for the climate of 2016.

Where his party has lurched right, Mr. Pataki has done nearly the opposite: He has criticized Republican rivals for attacking immigration, questioning mandatory vaccination policies and opposing abortion even in cases of rape. He has highlighted his experience cutting deals with Democrats in New York, tackling crime and welfare reform through compromise, and wooing Latino voters in the process.

Mr. Pataki, who has struggled to raise money and gain attention, acknowledged at a lakeside meet-and-greet in Sandown, N.H., that the campaign had not exactly proceeded as anticipated: Donald J. Trump, the billionaire immigration hawk, has led the field of 17 candidates in recent polling, while Mr. Pataki has struggled to register even in the low single digits.

“Things are kind of, ah, different with Trump out there,” Mr. Pataki told voters, adding, “Ultimately, I think people are going to want grown-up government.”

Perhaps what he needs to do is make a lot of noise and throw his shit at the others so the current base can call him one of their own.