How Virginia Got Stupid-on-a-Stick for Governor

The next Governor of Virginia is going to be Bob McDonnell, a right-wing, knuckle-dragging, born again chauvinist pig, who thinks women should shut up and go back to the kitchen.

How did this happen? The short answer is that Creigh Deeds has run one of the worst campaigns in memory that has not otherwise been plagued by major scandal.

Who is Creigh Deeds? I have do idea.

What does Creigh Deeds stand for? I have no idea.

It's not that Bob McDonnell is winning -- it's that no one knows who Creigh Deeds is or why they should vote for him.

Creigh Deeds says he's not Obama ... BUT VIRGINIA VOTED FOR OBAMA!

The CBC describes what is going on:

In Virginia, former state senator Creigh Deeds decided to hold his candidacy aloof from the White House.

When asked by a reporter on the trail whether he was an Obama Democrat, he famously replied, "No, I'm a Deeds Democrat."

At the time, Deeds was neck-and-neck with his Republican opponent Bob McDonnell.

Deeds campaign refused any help from the White House, which meant there would be no visits from the president despite the fact that Obama had won the state handily in November, the first Democratic victory there in generations for a presidential candidate. (Late last week, Deeds relented, however, and Obama showed up for one-day rally in Norfolk.)

Meanwhile, in New Jersey, Democratic Governor Jon Corzine was trailing his Republican opponent Chris Christie.

Corzine's first term as governor had not been successful. In fact, it was ordinary at best and he was heading for a loss.

Obama, too, was on a downward track at the time but that didn't stop Corzine from taking up his president's offer of help.

He invited Obama to show up at three mammoth campaign events. His television ads featured Corzine and Obama together.

These ads talked of the partnership between the state and the president. In New Jersey, it was all Obama, all the time.

So what's the result?
Obama recovered from his summertime malaise.

His health-care plan looks on track to pass before the end of the year, as he had called for. And that is even with the public-option plank — government-run health insurance — which Republicans had used as a weapon to bludgeon him.

Also, the Dow Jones index passed the 10,000 mark, a key psychological barrier, and there were several very successful addresses to the nation.

In short, Obama's approval ratings strengthened.

Meanwhile, in Virginia, Deeds now trails by 11 points.

It looks like young voters and African-Americans, who turned the tide for Obama in Virginia a year ago, have chosen to sit this one out.

In New Jersey, Corzine has righted his ship and currently has a seven-point lead.

The governor has been making it clear at every stop that he owes his turnaround to the "leadership and brilliance" of the president.

So what's the upside?

The upside is that Virginia has had two Democratic Governors back-to-back (Mark Warner and Tim Kaine), and I predict that Bob McDonnell is going to be such a disaster that we may never have another Republican Governor in Virginia again in my lifetime.