President Obama appears to be backing out of Virginia less than a year after he conquered the Old Dominion in his historic election.
The president is scheduled to campaign for gubernatorial candidate Creigh Deeds on Tuesday, but The Washington Post reported that “Democrats at the national level” are already accusing Deeds of having blown the party’s chances in the Nov. 3 election.
The paper quoted “senior administration officials” as saying that Deeds has ignored the White House’s advice on mobilizing blacks and young professionals. One said: “Obama, [Virginia Gov. Tim] Kaine and others had drawn a road map to victory in Virginia. Deeds chose another path.”
The Democrats are facing tough races for the New Jersey and Virginia governor’s mansions as well as a congressional seat in New York. Historically, “out” parties gain in off-year elections, but Republicans — demoralized by big losses in 2006 and 2008 — are hoping to turn this year’s elections into a referendum on Obama.
Some political experts weren’t surprised to see Obama cut bait with Deeds, who has been trailing Republican Bob McDonnell in polls for much of the race.
“Deeds has been a clumsy campaigner, sometimes fully subscribing to the Obama agenda, sometimes not too much, and not very consistent on the message. There are no fish in this pond for Obama, so putting distance between him and the Deeds campaign only seems sensible unless Deeds asks for help,” said University of Chicago political scientist John Brehm.
American Enterprise Institute political scientist John Fortier differed, saying he was surprised by Obama’s hand washing.
“Partly because they were quite proud of turning Virginia around,” Fortier said, referring to the 2008 elections, when Obama became the first Democrat since Lyndon Johnson to win Virginia.
George Mason University political scientist Alan Abramson said he expects Obama at the Old Dominion University event to emphasize that local elections are just that — local.
“I’m sure they’ll be making those claims in spades,” he said. A loss in Virginia “won’t directly damage the president’s possibilities, although there is obvious damage to perceptions. And these things get read as disaffection with the president, regardless of the fact that the reality is that they spoke more to local issues.”
