If you're Brian Moran, you can't be thrilled with this article by the Washington Post about the campaign's "kickoff" yesterday. Out of 12 paragraphs, there are 5 that mention Terry McAuliffe, who the Post says supplanted Brian Moran as "the favorite in the June 9 primary" after he "unexpectedly entered the race" at the end of 2008.And then there's paragraph 7:
"We need a governor who is grounded in our commonwealth and connected to our people," said Moran, referring to McAuliffe's lack of political experience in Virginia. Moran himself is hardly a Beltway neophyte. More than a dozen defense contractors with business before his brother, U.S. Rep. James P. Moran Jr. (D-Va.), a member of the powerful House Appropriations defense subcommittee, have donated about $80,000 to his campaign since the beginning of the year, according to campaign finance reports.Uh oh, looks like the Post isn't going to let this issue go. Not a good sign for the Moran campaign.
Finally, the Post article emphasizes the top-down, establishment-endorsement-heavy nature of Brian Moran's campaign, which NLS snarkily dubs as "Harris Miller For Governor!"
All in all, if I were the Moran campaign, I wouldn't be happy with this article in the least. I'd be even less pleased considering that this was coverage of what was supposed to be a positive event, Moran's "kickoff" (note: not sure why you hold a "kickoff" a year after you officially start running, but whatever...)
