On Nov. 24, Tom Perriello was certified the winner in the 5CD congressional race.
Although the margin was approximately 750 votes, Virgil Goode has requested a recount. This recount stands virtually no chance of succeeding. Under state law, Goode has nothing to lose, as the state foots the bill.
Goode certainly has a legal right to the recount, but it is a grand waste of time and money.
I attended a public meeting recently with Del. David Toscano for an update on the General Assembly session. There were about a dozen people there.
So, before going further, I would like to thank David for taking the time to keep his constituents informed and for asking our opinions.
As David explained, he gives each of his updating sessions a title that he hopes captures the overarching theme of the General Assembly session. This year it was, “Show Us The Money,” a reference to the challenges the General Assembly faced in connection with education and transportation.
David went through some of the General Assembly’s successes this year, especially in the area of mental health. He also pointed out that the General Assembly was able to come with a reasonable increase in education dollars for teacher raises and pre-K. Had the Republicans had their way, David pointed out, state spending on education actually would have dropped in real terms because of how they would have changed arcane formulas that calculated per student expenditures statewide.
I want to touch on two areas that I found particularly interesting.
First, many folks seemed interested in environmental issues. That may have simply been a reflection of the attendees, but my sense was that it is also an issue that is gaining traction with voters at the local level.
While government at all levels grapples with the complex competing economic, social and political interests inherent in all environmental questions, individuals have taken matters into their hands. We recycle more, or use a rain barrel, or purchase more energy-efficient appliances or automobiles – things large and small. It is not even a “think globally, act locally” approach, but rather a “think globally, act personally” one.
Still, it is frustrating for people to take these steps only to see their neighbor refusing to do so. You may save gasoline by buying a more fuel-efficient vehicle, or changing your driving habits, but it all seems for naught when you observe a school bus idling in a parking lot for 20 minutes.
Grass-roots movements to address issues like these are great, but what I heard expressed at this meeting was a desire for government to be more involved as an organizing force in environmental issues.
The second issue concerned, naturally enough, the economy as it manifested itself in the conflict over the transportation bill. Gov. Kaine has called the General Assembly back to Richmond next month to discuss transportation funding. He has proposed several new taxes (a sales-tax increase in NoVa and Hampton Roads, and a real estate grantor tax increase) to pay for it. The Republicans called those proposals non-starters.
Quite apart from any rational discussion of the merits of various approaches to solving the Commonwealth’s transportation problems is the political game being played here related to the 2009 elections. Republicans do not want this session to accomplish anything on transportation. For one thing, a Democratic governor who actually uses government to accomplish something for people undercuts the entire Republican Party message.
More basely, it doesn’t take a genius to see they are hoping to manipulate Gov. Kaine and the Democrats into proposing new taxes or other transportation funding solutions that the GOP can then demagogue in the next two election cycles, especially 2009.
Kaine, on the other hand, has vowed that if nothing gets done, he will let people know who to blame, although it remains to be seen whether he will succeed at this.
If no agreement is reached, then the problem is simply deferred to the 2010 General Assembly session when the next budget is written. Meanwhile, by law the money in the budget for transportation will be used first for maintenance and, if any remains, only then for new construction.
Over the long run, this will slow down economic growth in the state, first in the regions most directly affected – NoVa and Hampton Roads – but eventually throughout the entire state, since NoVa and Hampton Roads are so important to the state’s tax base. In time, Southside and Central Virginia will suffer the worst as a result of the Republican’s childish and irresponsible behavior.
The Republican Party is unlikely to change its ways in the near future, if only because they are ideologically and paradoxically wed to a principle of government that eschews actual progressive solutions to problems if those solutions involve government. After listening to David discuss the issue, I am convinced the only answer to solving Virginia’s transportation crisis and continuing economic growth in all regions of the state is to elect more Democrats so the General Assembly can enact the programs we need.
The difference between Democratic and Republican governance in the Commonwealth has not been of high taxes vs. low taxes, or big government vs. limited government. That is empty rhetoric robotically repeated by Gilmore, Frederick, Howell, et al., designed to fool voters, not inform them.
The real difference between Democrats and Republicans is between good governance vs. incompetence; action vs. passivity; concern for all citizens vs. concern for the rich or the privileged few; maturity vs. childish game-playing.
Once again, many thanks to David Toscano, both for the briefing and for the work he has done representing us in Richmond.
I had the privilege on Saturday of accompanying Tom Perriello, the Democratic challenger in the 5th District to Virgil Goode, to a couple of campaign stops, specifically the Fluvanna County Democrats Strawberry Social and the Uncle Billy Day Festival in Altavista.
I was grateful for the opportunity to see with my own eyes what is going on between Tom and the voters in Southside.
The two events cemented my conviction that Tom will beat Goode in November, especially after seeing the dedication of several of the young people working on his campaign.
The Strawberry Social was at Supervisor Marvin Moss’ home, Glen Burnie. There were some competing events in the area, so turnout was apparently less than the Fluvanna Democrats had hoped for, but the small crowd that was there was lively and enthusiastic, and gratefully able to fit in Mr. Moss’s lower level, air-conditioned great room.
Besides Tom, Creigh Deeds was there, and because the crowd was so small, I got to chat with him for a while, which was a real treat for me. Soon enough the race between Del. Brian Moran and Sen. Deeds will heat up. I’ve met Sen. Deeds a few times, and for me he embodies everything that makes me proud to be a lifelong Democrat. He is a Democrat in the best sense of the term, a Democrat in the tradition of FDR with a genuine concern and feel for the challenges faced by everyday folks, and a desire and an understanding of how to use government to address those challenges and really improve people’s lives – not just the folks able to organize into interest groups, but all people — in a tangible way.
Furthermore, I always walk away from a conversation with Sen. Deeds impressed with his honesty.
Brian Moran was scheduled to attend the event, but apparently he got stuck in Richmond, which was too bad, because I was really hoping for the opportunity to meet him. I’ve heard plenty of good things about him as well, and was hoping to be able to introduce myself and say hello.
But I was there with Tom Perriello, so let me get back to him. I don’t want to hijack my own diary.
Tom is an effective speaker. I think he is much better in this kind of informal setting than in a larger set speech. Here, in this blessedly cool room, talking about how he was going to reclaim and revive the Fifth District, he seemed to really connect with this crowd of Democrats.
The sense among this group that Tom can actually win this race, as opposed to merely fighting the good fight, was real. These were partisans, yes, but also clear-eyed political realists.
The desire for change was palatable. Outside of the several campaign staffers who were there, most of the crowd tended to be older (including me!), but everyone was stoked about the enthusiasm that they are seeing in young people this cycle and the sustainable change that portends for our country. Of course, we’ve seen young people energized before only to not show up on election day, but among these Fluvanna Democrats, hope springs eternal! The betting there (and I think it is 100% correct) is that this election, because of quality candidates on the ticket like Obama, Warner and Tom who speak to the desire for change and a new, more constructive direction for the nation, turnout will be high. The higher the turnout, obviously, the better for Tom and Virginia, if not all, Democrats this cycle.
Substantively, the contrast Tom offers to Virgil Goode is really striking: Tom talks about hope; Virgil about fear and hatred of illegal aliens and Muslims. Tom talks about changing the culture in Washington, while Virgil is part of a corrupt and ineffective Washington, DC mentality that has brought us to the brink of disaster. Tom talks about finding solutions, while Virgil talks about finding scapegoats. Tom talks humbly about faith as a foundation for a life of service, while Virgil sees faith as a rhetorical tool to demonize people and divide them. Tom is out in the District virtually every day, especially in Southside, meeting voters, working hard, listening to people. Virgil, who gets paid with out tax dollars, won’t even provide his constituents with a schedule of his activities.
“Building a fence in Mexico,” Tom points out, “won’t bring jobs to Southside.”
The discussion turned toward the importance of the African American vote in Virginia, in general, and in the Fifth District, in particular. Apparently, only about 50% of African Americans eligible to vote in the District are even registered here (I knew it was low, but not that low). And it isn’t only a Southside phenomenon, but exists in Charlottesville and Albemarle as well.
The thinking is that Obama’s nomination will help with this, both in terms of exciting African American voters to want to register and vote for our historic nominee, but also because Obama’s ground game will be helping to register as many voters as possible.
Tom also spoke about his organizing effort, especially his Fellows for Common Good Summer program in which he has trained 15 volunteer college students to fan out across the District. Tom’s campaign now has offices in Bedford, Martinsville, Smith Mountain Lake, Danville, Farmville and Charlottesville. (Some more on the Fellows I met, below).
Before leaving Fluvanna, I would like to say a word about Supervisor Marvin Moss and his very interesting historical home. It was built in 1826 and is on the National Register of Historical Places. Mr. Moss was a gracious host in showing me and several other guests around, discussing his period furniture and artwork, not to mention wall paint that costs $150 a gallon. Imagine being able to stroll around Monticello freely as guest of the owner, not a sightseer, and you can get an idea of what it felt like. If you like being able to see, feel and touch history, as well as read about it, like I do, it was a real treat.
Our nest stop was about 2 hours south at the Uncle Billy’s Day festival in Altavista. The Perriello campaign had a tent set up there where they were raffling off $50 of free gas. It was the only political tent at the event. Perriello stickers were a big hit with the kids passing by (in keeping with Tom’s faith-based approach – see Isaiah 11:6)
By the way, did I mention it was hot?
As we passed a bank in Altavista, it had one of those electronic clock and thermometers out front showing the temperature was 102 degrees. I think it was using a Fahrenheit scale, but I’m honestly not certain – it could have been Celsius. There was barely a perceptible breeze.
We were drenched in sweat just from the short walk to the fairground from the parking area.
Which leads me to the most impressive thing I saw all day. I cannot say enough about the three Perriello staffers I met at the Uncle Billy’s Day Festival who manned this tent ALL day. Drew Lumpkin, Tom’s Western coordinator, headed up the team, and he was accompanied by two Common Good Fellows, Jesse, who goes to Swarthmore, and Meredith, a rising third year at UVA.
Drew, Jesse and Meredith had working all day out in the hot sun, and as you can imagine, they too were drenched in sweat. It was miserable. Somehow, these three folks maintained their enthusiasm for Tom and good humor for their work throughout the incredible heat of the entire afternoon.
Everyone felt grungy (Tom later remarked, “I could take a shower in beer right now and feel less sticky.”). That didn’t stop these five; Tom and Jess strolled around the
Fairgrounds meeting voters while Drew, Meredith and Jesse continued trying to engage people at the booth.
By far, the issue on people’s mind was gasoline prices.
Virgil and Republicans have been touting ANWAR as the panacea for high gas prices. It is absurd, but it permits to the GOP to frame the issue as “you’re paying $4 at the pump because Democrats don’t want to hurts a few polar bears.”
The truth is that our current problems are the result of 7 years of mismanagement and bad policy by the Bush Administration, especially the failure to invest both intellectual and actual capital in the development of alternative energy before we were in a crisis.
Not much you can honestly say to folks about bringing gas prices down short-term, and to his credit, Tom did not try to do so. Rather, he took the opportunity to talk about long-term solutions, and how new scientific discoveries would generate jobs and about the importance of leadership in addressing these issues.
Many people seemed willing to chat for a while, and many seemed particularly impressed that Tom was there.
My personal favorite was a lady who insisted I take her picture with Tom, who she thought was very good looking. “Put that in your paper,” she pointed at me and ordered me (actually, I don’t have a paper, but I said I would). She was quite happily boisterous and seemed really receptive to Tom. A minute later she returned to ask what party Tom belonged to. She was crestfallen to hear he was a Democrat and said she’d be voting for Virgil. Tom asked, “Do you want him to erase the picture?
“No, y’all keep the picture,” she said with a big smile and a wave goodbye. I really got a kick out of it.
Tom didn’t agree, but come Nov. 4, when she gets in that voting booth, she’s voting for the nice young man she posed with for a picture. Yes, I predict she will be voting for Tom. And even if she doesn’t, she is the kind of person that Tom is running for, as much as he is running for people like me who are closer to him in political thinking. That woman doesn’t know it, but she needs Tom in Congress as much as all of us do.
Photos follow:
Creigh Deeds introducing Tom at the Strawberry Social. Creigh is running for Governor, but he is not looking past this year, and spoke passionately about the need to make sure Obama and Warner win statewide, and that Democrats take advantage of this great opportunity to pick up Congressional seats in the state.
Supervisor Marvin Moss
Marvin Moss’ beautiful and historic home
Tom chats with a voter and her son at the Uncle Billy’s Day Festival in Altavista. That’s Common Good Fellow Jesse on the left, holding the clipboard.
Tom with some more voters
Drew and Meredith at Tom’s booth at the Festival. Note the numerous bottles of water and Gatorade on the table, which were constantly being consumed.
Here’s Tom with that lovely woman I discuss above. she doesn’t know it yet, but in a little less than five months, she will be voting for a Democrat for the first time.
Packing up at the end of a long day. Left to right is Meredith, Drew and Jesse. That is Jessica Barba, Tom’s communication director, picking up the sign.
Vivian Paige held her third annual Memorial Day BBQ in Norfolk over the weekend. You can find her blog here, and a report on the BBQ here.
Among the other events was a straw poll for Governor in which Brian Moran bested Creigh Deeds by an almost 2:1 margin. Both Deeds and Moran were there, BTW.
The state’s progressive blogs have been gently debating the meaning of it, and at this point, I’d have to say that the conclusion seems to be that it doesn’t have much meaning beyond the fact that it is always generally better to come out on the winning side of such polls because they do help to shape perceptions in the party’s most activist sectors, and thus could become self-fulfilling prophecies. Here is a discussion thread from NLS.
I wasn’t there, but just reading about the straw poll and following the early jockeying on the blogs, my own sense is that despite Creigh Deeds’ early announcement of his intention to run for the office, Moran is further along in terms of organization, particularly online.
ABC’s Jake Tapper, certainly no shill for Democratic or Progressive causes, has a story up abut criticism of Barak Obama by Future Former House Minority Leader (TM) John Boehner (R-OH) and Minority Whip, our very own Eric Cantor (R-VA), over some of Obama’s recent comments about Israel.
There is no nice way to say it: Tapper makes clear both Boehner and Cantor lied.
I don’t care much about Boehner. He’s from Ohio, and his mismanagement of his caucus and well-reported bizzare behavior in the House suggest that he is on a path to political oblivion. He will, of course, win re-election to his seat, but rejection by his caucus in January is probable, and that would arguably spur his retirement as he seeks to cash in on the lobbyist gravy train while he can.
But Cantor cuts close to home.
There has been a concerted effort by the GOP to make Jewish people afraid of Obama. The Muslim smear was a part of this (though that smear was not specifically directed at the Jewish community). The Hamas smear, currently in vogue in the GOP, is specifically directed at Jews. It is being specifically articulated by prominent GOP elected officials and supporters, such as Lieberman this past weekend on Wolf Blitzer’s show on CNN.
That was bad enough, but Cantor needs to be called on this.
I’ll let Tapper take it from here:
In an interview with The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., talked a great deal about Israel. He was rather effusive in his support for the Jewish state.
Apparently given nothing of substance to criticize, House Republican leaders then took a statement Obama made and twisted it to act as if the Democrat had insulted the Jewish state. Which he had not.
* * *
When the topic turned to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Obama said, “Israel and the Palestinians have tough issues to work out to get to the goal of two states living side by side in peace and security.” When asked if Israel besmirches the United States’ reputation, Obama said “No, no, no.”
Then he said: “But what I think is that this constant wound, that this constant sore, does infect all of our foreign policy. The lack of a resolution to this problem provides an excuse for anti-American militant jihadists to engage in inexcusable actions, and so we have a national-security interest in solving this, and I also believe that Israel has a security interest in solving this because I believe that the status quo is unsustainable. I am absolutely convinced of that … I want to solve the problem…”
It seemed pretty clear to me that by “constant sore” Obama was referring to the unresolved Israeli-Palestinian conflict. As he says in the next sentence: the “lack of a resolution to this problem.”
Nonetheless, House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, who knows better, accused Obama of calling Israel a “constant sore.”
“Israel is a critical American ally and a beacon of democracy in the Middle East, not a ‘constant sore’ as Barack Obama claims,” Boehner said. “Obama’s latest remark, and his commitment to ‘opening a dialogue’ with sponsors of terrorism, echoes past statements by Jimmy Carter who once called Israel an ‘apartheid state.’”
(That’s interesting because in that very same interview, Obama rejected Carter’s use of the term “apartheid” as applied to Israel. Said Obama: “I strongly reject the characterization….”)
Another member of the GOP House leadership, Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Virginia, also misrepresented what Obama said.
“It is truly disappointing that Senator Obama called Israel a ‘constant wound,’ ‘constant sore,’ and that it ‘infect[s] all of our foreign policy.’ These sorts of words and characterizations are the words of a politician with a deep misunderstanding of the Middle East and an innate distrust of Israel,” Cantor said.(emphasis added)
When Obama twisted Sen. John McCain’s “100 Years” comment, it was pretty dishonest as well.
But this may be worse, because Boehner et al are falsely accusing Obama of besmirching a nation and a people. They are accusing him of being anti-Israel, even anti-Semitic. It is false. (emphasis added)
In other words, Tapper says Cantor is lying.
Jews and non-Jews alike can reach their own conclusions about where Obama stands on this issue (I have reached mine, and Obama is light-years better than McCain when it comes to Israel), but lying is simply wrong, and in the end it does not serve the interests of any Americans, Jewish or otherwise, who care deeply about Israel or peace in the Middle East.
On May 7, 178 Republicans in the House of Representatives cast a vote against a resolution — and I am not kidding — “Celebrating the role of mothers in the United States and supporting the goals and ideals of Mother’s Day.”
All week the GOP had been using various tactics to slow up business in the House, ostensibly in protest to what they perceive as Democrats’ high-handed tactics in running the House (given the way Hastert and Delay ran the place, Republicans have zero credibility in complaining in this department), but really because the Republican Party is utterly lacking in any kind of substantive or positive agenda, and so if they are going to show up in the chamber, they figure they might as well do something, even if that something is to prevent anyone else from doing something.
Dana Milbank has the story in the Washington Post. Resolutions like this typically pass by unanimous voice vote. The GOP, however, demanded a recorded vote on the symbolic measure. Democrats then sought to table that motion and declare the resolution passed. That is fine as far as it goes — parliamentary rules serve all sides — but then 178 Republicans inexplicably voted against the measure, in effect, voting against the resolution itself!
Future former House Minority Leader John Boehner (OH) tried to explain it al by saying Reublicans demanded the recorded to vote to get their votes in favor of Mom on record. How one records a vote a vote in favor of Mom by voting against Mom is logic only a Republican could appreciate.
As for Virginia’s delegation, or at least the delegation representing areas in Central and Western Virginia, Republicans Virgil Goode (5th) (natch), Bob Goodlatte (6th), Eric Cantor (7th) and Randy Forbes (4th) all voted against Mom. Democrat Rick Boucher (9th) voted in favor of moms.
Happy Mother’s Day, all.
Tomorrow’s North Carolina and Indiana primaries will mark the beginning of the final act in the Democratic nomination battle. It will be over within a month at the outside, although I suspect it will be quicker than that.
The polls seem to be saying that Obama will win North Carolina by between 7-12, and Hillary will win with a similar margin in Indiana. I won’t get into the delegate math, which is largely irrelevant at this point anyway. This thing will be decided by some mass movement of remaining super-dels one way of the other, IMHO.
Which way they will move, and when, remain questions.
On the one hand, Obama remains something a question mark because by all rights, he should have sewn this up long ago, but failed to do it. The unanswered question is, “Why?”
And, as Blake (Alec Baldwin) points out in the film, Gelngarry Glen Ross, “Coffee’s for closers only.”
Still, by virtually every objective measure votes, delegates and numbers of states, he will wind up ahead in this election.
Clinton, on the other hand, is a proven street fighter. She will keep comin’ and comin’ at you, no matter how many times you hit her. It is virtually impossible not to admire this quality in her, even if she disgusts you.
The choice is further complicated by the fact that, as it has turned out, Clinton and Obama have each become leaders of the two key components of the Democratic Party’s nationwide coalition; in Clinton’s case, the white middle class in the Mid-western and Northeastern strongholds, a/k/a Reagan Democrats, and in Obama’s, African Americans. These are the groups who may stay home on election day if their candidate is not declared the winner.
My own take is that Clinton has to outperform tomorrow if she wants to have a prayer of winning the nomination, and if she fails to do so, we’ll start to see super-dels moving Obama’s way.
First, there is the undeniable fact that Obama is ahead, and while I believe it may sometimes be prudent for party officials to overturn the will of the voters, there ought to be an unassailable reason for doing so. I can think up reasons why Clinton would make a better candidate in the general election than Obama, but all of them are assailable.
Second, there is no denying McCain’s appeal among independents (although I don’t think his reputation as a maverick or a straight-shooter is warranted), and Obama is the tougher candidate on this score. He has shown that he can not only attract independents, but among a highly dissatisfied electorate craving change, he is able to motivate them to get off their independent asses and vote.
Don’t get me wrong. I still think Clinton can beat McCain, but only if she can hold enough traditional Democrats, because with a motivated Democratic base, she can attract enough independents to give her victory.
But she simply cannot afford to alienate any Democratic voters, and she cannot take any of them for granted. And I just don’t see, in the absence of some dynamic-changing event (like a scandal), how she wins without alienating large amounts of Democrats.
Obama’s appeal among independents gives him more wiggle room. If his nomination upsets some Democrats in Ohio and Pennsylvania, two critical states, Obama can compensate and still win them.
The one obvious monkey-wrench that can be trown into the works is that Hillary Clinton wins North Carolina. As unlikely as I think that is, if it happened, it would give me pause.
About 200 injured. Gov. Kaine declares state of emergency:
From the Virginia Department of Emergency Management
Latest from AP (about 8 a.m.)
3 tornadoes rip through Va.; more than 200 people hurt - Yahoo! News
Lowell at Raising Kaine drew my attention to this chart from the Swing State project measuring how competitive challengers were in House races by comparing their cash on hand with that of their incumbent opponents.
As the Swing State Project explains their methodology by noting it is great if you, as a challenger, have $500K cash on hand, but if your opponent has $2 million, well, it don’t look so great. So their chart measures the challenger’s CoH as a percentage of the incumbents.
Tom Perriello ranks 15th on the list. His $500K CoH is about 84% Virgil Goode’s amount.
The only other Virginia race in the top 20 is VA-10, where Judy Feder’s $700K is 98% of incumbent Frank Wolf’s $716K.
If one needed any confirmation that Virginia is moving from a red state to a purple one – beyond the Democratic Party’s recent dominance in statewide elections, that is — look no further than the speculation surrounding potential vice-presidential candidates from the state.
It is to be expected on the Democratic side. While the result of endless Democratic primary remains, as of this writing and at least in theory, up in the air, one thing is for sure: the top of the ticket will be a Yankee.
The last winning Democratic ticket that did not include a Southerner was Franklin Roosevelt and Henry Wallace in 1940. And while Obama, should he be the nominee, may need to use the VP slot to solidify Ohio and Pennsylvania, two critical states in any Democrat’s path to the White House, should he reach south for help, Sen. James Webb is both a logical and intriguing choice (Gov. Tim Kaine, apparently, is not interested in the slot) who, with his military cred, could help him carry this state and others.
But it was a recent name floated on the GOP side that made me say “Huh?”
In an April 23 column in the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Bob Raynor wrote that Congressman Eric Cantor “could make the perfect running mate” for John McCain. He cited his age, 44, and his seat on the economically oriented House Ways and Means Committee as compensating for two of McCain’s perceived weaknesses.
Raynor also cited the fact that Cantor would be the first Jew on a national GOP ticket, which he said would benefit McCain by amplifying the suspicion with which Jewish voters are already thought to regard Obama. (Incidentally, Cantor is the sole Jewish Republican in the House, as well.)
“The congressman from Richmond,” Raynor writes, “would keep Virginia and Florida in the GOP column and could help McCain in Northeastern states, such as New Jersey, where the Arizona Senator appears to be running better than recent Republican presidential candidates.”
Incidentally, Cantor’s wife is, among other things, on the Board of Directors of Media General, which owns the Times Dispatch.
Raynor is probably right that Cantor on the ticket would not hurt in the retirement areas of South Florida, although the Obama camp already seems to be torpedoing any chance it has in the state anyway, and we’re not sure why Cantor would be needed.
As for Virginia, we are baffled what his presence on the ticket would actually do. His district, the Seventh, is already solidly in the GOP corner, and while he is a member of the GOP leadership in the House, he doesn’t seem particularly well known in the state.
And as for New Jersey, we’ll never under the GOP’s fascination with the home of the Boss. Jersey used to swing, but not anymore.
The reason we were baffled, however, is why anyone think to mention Cantor in the first place? This isn’t a judgment on Cantor’s abilities, about which we know little and could care less, but rather on whether he is ready to run for national office.
For McCain to win in the fall, he will need to distance himself from George W. Bush, the most unpopular president, at least according to Gallup, in living memory. A running mate who voted with Bush some 95% of the time is probably not a good way to accomplish this.
Nor I see Cantor’s youth as a positive.
It’s not like voters will average his and McCain’s ages to find a greater comfort level. McCain’s advanced years cause concern because they create the perception he may not survive the entire term. This problem is not alleviated by youth on the other spot on the tick – it’s not like voters will average their ages. In fact, voters will more than likely be trying to imagine McCain’s running-mate as a president in his or her own right.
Cantor does not meet this test. He makes Dan Quayle seem like Abraham Lincoln.
I wish I could even say that Cantor’s name was an interesting one to float, but I can’t, outside of the thought that McCain might need a Virginian, even one as unready for national office as Cantor, to hold on to a state that has not voted for a Democrat since 1964.
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