What's the Deal with Deeds and Wilder?

In 2005, as I'm sure most of you recall, former Virginia Governor Doug Wilder (D) declined to endorse Creigh Deeds for Attorney General, "largely because of his position on gun issues and the one-gun- a- month bill that had been a signature achievement of Wilder’s tenure as Governor." It is also worth pointing out that Wilder didn't endorse fellow Democrat Don Beyer in the 1997 governor's race against Jim Gilmore. Finally, in 2006, Wilder waited until the last minute - about a week before the election - to finally endorse Jim Webb (also very pro-gun, by the way) over George Allen after much courting.

Now comes word from Politico that Wilder has rebuffed the overtures of White House political director Patrick Gaspard, who met with Wilder "for over two hours in Virginia's capital," to endorse Deeds this time around. What's going on here? According to Politico:

...Wilder, in disclosing the meeting in an interview with POLITICO, made it clear that he remained far from endorsing Deeds and was in no hurry to weigh in on the closely-watched race — all the while outlining with his typical brutal candor what he thought some of the party’s challenges were and what was at stake.

On what the former governor called “bread-and-butter issues,” he said of Deeds: “Tell me what the man has done? I haven’t heard it.”

Asked if he thought Deeds may have a problem this fall with African-American voters, Wilder said flatly: “I do.”

He said black voters have no reason at the moment to vote for the nominee and referred to the decision this week of BET co-founder and Democratic donor Sheila Johnson to support GOP nominee Bob McDonnell.

“Many people feel taken for granted and I think that was built into the decision Mrs. Johnson made,” Wilder said.

The former governor could have also been talking about himself.

He pointedly noted that he had not yet met with Deeds – though he is scheduled to – while McDonnell has come to court many times.

As if all that's not bad enough, Wilder also says he's not thrilled with the Democratic Party of Virginia, "saying he had not heard from their high command" even though they're both "right here in Richmond."

Ultimately, what Doug Wilder's reasons are for not getting on board with the Democratic nominee for governor against a right winger like Bob McDonnell are hard to know. Is it all about guns? If so, then how is McDonnell any better than Deeds? Is it all about ties to the African American community? Again, how is McDonnell any better than Deeds in this area? Is it all about personal overtures and courting of Doug Wilder personally? Hard to say, but you'd think that a visit by the White House political director might count as "courting" for most people. Of course, Doug Wilder's always been a tough nut to crack, and this time around appears to be no exception.

In the end, does it matter whether the 78-year-old former governor, the first African American governor in the United States, and a popular figure in Virginia's African American community, endorses Creigh Deeds? I'd have to say "yes," which is why both Deeds and McDonnell are so avidly courting said endorsement. The fact is, this election could turn out to be extremely close, just as the Deeds-McDonnell race for Attorney General in 2005 was decided by fewer than 350 votes. It's also a fact that Deeds is from a rural part of Virginia that is almost all white, and that in the primary he received relatively little African American support (Terry McAuliffe won the heavily African American 3rd Congressional District). So, yes, I'd say that Doug Wilder's endorsement matters. Unfortunately, for now, that endorsement remains up in the air...

P.S. Another thought: what additional information could Doug Wilder possibly hope to find out over the next 3 months? It's not like he hasn't thought hard about a Deeds vs. McDonnell matchup previously.