WVEC Report: McAuliffe and Clinton in Norfolk

Overall, this is an excellent report on the Bill Clinton/Terry McAuliffe event in Norfolk today. However, it seems that there always has to be an unintentional howler with TV reports on Virginia politics (see here for a great one!). In this case, the funniest line is that McAuliffe "has only lived in Virginia for 17 years." Think about that: only 17 years. How long have you lived in Virginia? Personally, I've lived here since 1986, so I guess I've "only" lived here for 23 years now. The population of Virginia in 1986, by the way, was 5.8 million. Today, it's 7.8 million, meaning that it's grown by 2 million - Terry McAuliffe included - during that period. I guess none of those people have lived in Virginia long enough to be considered "real Virginians." What. Ever.

By the way, Tim Kaine moved to Virginia after graduating from Harvard in 1983, so he's "only" lived here for 26 years. And Brian Moran? He moved to Virginia after receiving his law degree from Catholic University in 1988. So he's "only" lived here for 21 years, 2 years fewer than I've lived here (ha). What's the point here? That this is all completely idiotic, trivial nonsense. Please, give me something substantive on the issues, the candidates' visions/ideas for Virginia, their characters, the types of campaigns they've run, etc. But this "how long have they lived in Virginia" (or whether they have a "Boston accent") crap? Please, spare us.