Just a few last thoughts on the Shad Planking yesterday, then I'm moving on to campaign finance reports and other fun stuff. :)*The weather forecast held down attendance from what it probably would have been in a gubernatorial election year. In the end, that still meant a lot of people, most of whom seemed to be having a great time as it stayed cool but dry.
*I thought it was odd that the Wagner and Moran campaigns would choose not to put up any signs at all. At least Deeds had an alternative plan...skip the event entirely and head to Southwest Virginia with Rick Boucher.
*I was struck by the quiet as Brian Moran delivered his speech, compared to the boisterous McAuliffe and McDonnell supporters. Where were all of Brian's grassroots supporters today? (there were a few Moran staffers and "consultants" in attendance)
*Terry McAuliffe had four times as many signs (25,000) as his nearest competitor, Bob McDonnell (6,000), and that's not even counting the signs a McDonnell staffer stole and stuffed in his trunk. Ha.
*I thought Jon Bowerbank had a nice presence in terms of signs and staff. Mike Signer did a good job with a few signs, making them a different shape (and large) so that they'd be noticeable.
*I tried to get an answer from the Wagner people about why she didn't have any signs or much of any presence, and I basically got "no comment." Does Wagner think she has this race locked up and doesn't need to make much effort at Shad Planking? Hard to say. But she did have popcorn! :)
*Terry McAuliffe handles hecklers very well. As he says, the more people argue with him, the more excited and energized he gets.
*Clearly, Bob McDonnell was most focused on Terry McAuliffe, spending nearly three times as much of his loooong remarks talking about Terry, not Brian or Creigh (who got about a 30-second mention).
*George Allen was working the crowd, and there even was an "Allen 2012" sign. Allen got a big cheer from the largely Republican crowd, but I'm highly skeptical that he'd run for president in 2012 (or ever).
*A humorous note - Allen didn't realize it, but he had his picture taken with a couple of Webb staffers who probably know more about him than just about anyone in the world (and played a significant role in defeating him in '06).
*Jim Gilmore also got a big cheer; not sure why after his disastrous runs for president and U.S. Senate, not to mention his disastrous governorship that drove Virginia nearly into a financial ditch.
*Brian Moran and Bob McDonnell seem to be on genuinely friendly terms.
*The crowd was overwhelmingly Republican, as it always is at Shad Planking, including lots of Confederate flag stickers, "no card check" stickers, some kind of pro-fossil-fuel energy coalition, and battling gun booths between the NRA and the VCDL, which believes the NRA is too wimpy I guess. There was also a Ron Paul booth with "Rally for the Republic," "Liberty or Death" and "Calling the GOP back to its roots" signs. I'm not sure what those "roots" might be, and I'm kind of afraid to ask.
*Bob McDonnell clearly did NOT sound like a "moderate" in Wakefield yesterday, taking swipes at unions, environmental protection, taxes, and refusing to put the letters "ic" at the end of "Democrat," even when it was completely incorrect grammatically, such as "Democrat governor's association" or "my Democrat opponents." So juvenile; what next, should we start referring tot he RePUBIC Party? Hahahahaha. Not.
*I saw 35th House of Delegates candidate Mark Keam there, and he told me he raised an astonishing $130,000 just since February. That's incredible for a delegates primary.
UPDATE: Alan "Aznew" Zimmerman has an interesting comment on his blog.
I felt a little sad for Brian Moran. His campaign seems to be losing steam and desire. It was one thing for Creigh not to have a presence at the Shad -- after all, he wasn't there. But, honestly, Brian Moran didn't seem to have one either, and he was there. He didn't bother with the sign war, and his supporters seemed neither out in force nor pumped up for their man, IMHO.
By the way, where were you Alan? I was there for hours and didn't see you. Bummer.
I also agree with Alan on this:
For a guy whose ideology, particularly when it comes to social issues, is just slightly to the right of Sheikh Abdul-Rahman al-Barrak, Bob McDonnell is pretty darn personable. This has me very concerned.
