This afternoon, I had the opportunity to talk to my old friend Dave "Mudcat" Saunders (author and former strategist for Mark Warner, Jim Webb, John Edwards, etc.), and as usual he had a number of interesting insights and quotable quotes. Here are the highlights.*"Rural is not so much geographic as something you've got down in your soul."
*"Who would have thought in 2007 that by 2008, Hillary Clinton could have redefined herself as pro-gun and anti-trade? All of a sudden, she was drinking shots. She did a helluva job redefining herself."
*"I would never allow Bob McDonnell to redefine himself as any kind of moderate. He's not only tied to Pat Robertson, he's nailed to him."
*"I am NOT attacking Bob McDonnell's religion, I'm attacking his intolerance."
*"Nobody loves God more than me, and I would never attack Him. What I don't tolerate is intolerance."
*"Bob McDonnell doesn't give a damn about a road, a job, a school...he's all about social issues. He's on a mission from God, just like the Blue Brothers."
*"Bob McDonnell's a damn nice guy, but he doesn't believe like regular people do. He's way out of the mainstream."
*"The idea that [Bob McDonnell's] been this big advocate for the working man is laughable."
*"I love Creigh Deeds and I hope he wins because I think he'll make an outstanding governor."
*"I don't know what the Deeds' campaign plan is and I'm not telling them what to do."
*"I'm a populist. There's never been a better environment for economic populism than now, at least since Teddy Roosevelt got elected. If we're not going to do [economic populism] now, when ARE we going to do it?"
*"This is a 'frustration' election. People are not only frustrated, they're confused and afraid. They've never been through anything like this economy."
*"The candidate who calms their fears the most will win."
