There's an interesting article in Salon comparing Terry McAuliffe to Barack Obama, subtitled "The ultimate Clintonite reinvents himself to win over young voters and black voters in Virginia -- and becomes the favorite to win next month's Democratic gubernatorial primary." Here's an excerpt:McAuliffe is aiming his primary campaign squarely at young voters and black voters, who formed the bulk of the new registrants and were key parts of Obama's base last fall. Both McAuliffe and rival Brian Moran are from Northern Virginia, and the region's white suburban liberals account for about a third of the Democratic primary vote. But significantly, about a third of the Democratic primary electorate in the Clinton-Obama contest was black. The state's African-American population is heavily concentrated in the South and East, but all three Democratic candidates are white men from Northern Virginia or the mountains. With no contender an obvious choice for one of the party's biggest voting blocs, McAuliffe is making his play, betting that he can put together a coalition like the one Obama built.Is Terry McAuliffe the Virginia version, circa 2009, of Barack Obama? If so, would Creigh Deeds be cast in the role of John Edwards or Bill Richardson (populist and positive, but not victorious)? Would Brian Moran be Hillary Clinton (lots of high-priced consultants; except, in this alternate reality universe, Bill Clinton supports "Barack Obama," aka Terry McAuliffe - lol)?
Besides will.I.am, McAuliffe is also touring the state with Hillary Clinton's husband, Bill, this week, drawing nearly 700 people out in the middle of the day Wednesday in the D.C. suburbs of Herndon and Annandale. But his campaign team is more Obama than Clinton. Several top aides and advisors worked for Obama, including McAuliffe's polling firm, Benenson Strategy Group, and his ad maker, Jim Margolis. (Other top staffers worked on Mark Warner and Tim Kaine's races in the state, and for Hillary Clinton in the presidential contest.) Even his campaign logo, a silhouette of Virginia painted to look like a rising sun, evokes Obama's.
It's fun to think about, but it's also serious business if you care (as only a small percentage of Virginians apparently do right now) who our nominee is and who our next governor is. As someone who admires the Clintons but ultimately supported (strongly) Barack Obama for president last year, I'm enthusiastically for Terry McAuliffe this year, whether he's in any way, shape or form "Barack Obama." The fact is, we need big changes in Richmond - taking back the House of Delegates, reducing the influence of corporate lobbyists from Dominion, etc. - to get things done on the environment (as the LCV concluded in endorsing Terry the other day) and many other areas. In that context, I'll take my chances any day with the guy who hasn't spend years beating his head against the wall in the Dominion- and Republican-controlled Richmond "sausage factory." Terry McAuliffe as the "change candidate" like Barack Obama in 2008? Ironic, perhaps, but there's truth to it nonetheless.
