Creigh Deeds seemed like a good idea until the Virginia gubernatorial race. Now, with his Republican competitor with an almost double digit lead in the polls and a White House reluctant to campaign on his behalf, some are beginning to wonder if Deeds was the right choice. From the New York Times:
with this closely-watched election less than a month away, and Mr. Deeds struggling against Robert McDonnell, the Republican former attorney general, it is hard not to forgive some Virginia Democrats for thinking that they might have been better off with Mr. McAuliffe at the top of the ticket. This is no small thing since a defeat for Democrats in Virginia would be a decided setback for this White House, particularly after President Obama became the first Democratic presidential candidate to win the state last year since 1964. Democrats have held the Virginia governor’s seat for eight years.
The most recent Washington Post poll showed Mr. McDonnell leading Mr. Deeds by a 53 percent to 44 percent margin; while there is certainly time for Mr. Deeds to turn things around, his prospects right now appear weak, reflected by the fact that he can not even get Mr. Obama to agree to come campaign for him in the state.
“I don’t think there’s any doubt that in terms of campaign skills and ability to go toe-to-toe — both with McDonnell and national Republicans who have spent considerable resources on this race — McAuliffe has more experience and more skills,” said Robert D. Holsworth, a Virginia political analyst. “McAuliffe always had the big advantages and big liabilities. But those advantages would have been considerable in the race that this turned out to be.”
Uh oh.