Stanford professor Larry Lessig just announced via a short video on his personal blog that he's reached a decision on whether or not to launch a campaign for the open seat in California's 12th congressional district. That decision? It's a no go, kids. In the video, Lessig offers humble thanks for the outpouring of money and support that he's amassed at breakneck speed, including the nearly $40,000 that put him in the #2 slot on ActBlue's "Hot Candidates" list and a Facebook group that stands at more than 4,500 members. Despite the cutting-edge online enthusiasm around his possible candidacy, Lessig opted out of the race for the most old-school of reasons: he decided that there was just no way he could win the thing in the time allotted.

The special election triggered in CA-12 by the death of longtime congressman Tom Lantos would have left Lessig with just about a month to make his case to the people of that district. And while Larry might be a giant among men on the Internet, he and his work are far less well known on the ground in the 12th. Perhaps an NFL quarterback might be able to sufficiently introduce himself and his background in the compressed schedule of this race, but it's a bit tougher to sell a free-thinking academic and his activist ideas to constituents just about 30 days.

In the video, Lessig talks about consulting with a pollster who took at crunched the numbers and analyzed the district and decided that there was "no possible way" to win this race. And, Lessig says, the high probability that he would "lose in a big way" would be particularly damaging because his ambition was never just to win election; instead, Lessig aims to grow and bolster his nascent Change Congress movement. It's one thing, he says, for a first-time candidate to lose a race in a blowout, but it's another thing for a movement to take such a big blow while it's still getting its sea legs.

Of course, Lessig has opted out of just this special election race. Should longtime California politician Jackie Speier -- whom he graciously praises for "30 years of ... extraordinary public service" -- make her way into Congress, as seems likely, Lessig wouldn't have to wait that long to mount a challenge. Speier would be up for reelection in the fall.