Hi all,

Here are a couple of stories on last night's debate, from the Post and the Pilot:

http://www.washington...

McDonnell accused Deeds of plotting a tax increase and backing controversial Democratic proposals in Washington. Deeds sought to convince voters that McDonnell, a former legislator and state attorney general, had undergone a dramatic election-year conversion from a conservative ideologue to a pragmatic moderate.

"Legislator Bob McDonnell was never focused on jobs. Candidate Bob McDonnell talks a lot about jobs," Deeds said. "It's important for Bob and I to tell people what we're going to do as governor. But more relevant . . . is to take a look at our records."


http://hamptonroads.c...

The candidates plowed some new ground when they were asked about proposals in Congress to overhaul the health care system.

McDonnell said he would seize an opportunity to opt Virginia out of a so-called "public option" requirement if Congress gives the states such flexibility. Deeds said he would consider seeking an exemption, even though many Democrats are demanding a public option.

"A public option isn't required, in my view," Deeds said. "I think we have to do two things with health care. We have to reduce costs so more people can afford insurance. We have to increase coverage. I share those broad goals. I don't think the public option is necessary in any plan, and I would certainly consider opting out if that were available to Virginia. "

Deeds, who will campaign with President Barack Obama next week in Hampton Roads, said after the debate that he wasn't necessarily opposed to a public option.

"I'm not convinced that the public option is the only way we can reduce costs," he said. "It may be one way, but it may not be the best way."

McDonnell, the former state attorney general, voiced doubts about the direction of the health care debate, saying, " I believe we've got the best doctors, the best hospitals, the best research and development for pharmaceuticals in all the world, and the last thing we want to do is turn that over to the federal government."

The debate got off to a clumsy start when a technical malfunction disrupted audio feed. For several minutes, Deeds and McDonnell could be heard only by the 400 spectators in the auditorium while reporters, campaign staffers and the TV audience were left to guess what the candidates were saying.



The only place I was able to see the debate last night was on C-Span 3, online. Channel 12-Richmond didn't air it on TV for some reason, but it could have been that the audio feed problem made them decide to opt for regular programming instead. I checked channel 12's online feed, and the audio worked about 15 minutes into the debate, but the picture was stuck on a sort of deformed black & white image of McDonnell (on my computer, maybe yours was better). So at least I feel good about giving everyone the C-span internet link! Sorry that it took so much effort to find SOMEONE willing to air this debate! It's pretty sad that local TV stations would rather air stuff about celebrities than give voters one last look at their choices for governor this year.

One thing that occurred to me while watching McDonnell last night -- I'm reminded of George W. Bush's strategy while he was running for governor and then president. Bush would try to make himself sound almost identical to his opponent (as Ann Richards said, was good at "fuzzying up the difference"). But then once elected, Bush was a total radical, focusing entirely on starting and maintaining oil wars, and pushing through other programs that would benefit corporate interests of the Bush family (like the Medicare drug benefit giving huge profits to the pharmaceutical industry -- something Bush Sr. was heavily invested in). Everything other than those programs most profitable to Bush were totally neglected. Long story short, we still have the wars going on in Iraq and Afghanistan, don't we? And they're still costing us a fortune we don't have, aren't they? That's the Bush legacy -- vote for him, and you're lucky that you'll regret it forever. Lucky because at least you're ALIVE to regret it, unlike Bush's war victims.

It's kind of disturbing to watch McDonnell do the same thing -- I know he doesn't mean what he says when he talks jobs and transportation, because when you look at the details on how he's going to do it, it's all from fantasy-land. I'm glad that the Washington Post pointed this out in its endorsement of Deeds. So if McDonnell isn't seriously going to work on transportation, jobs, or any of the other programs as he claims, what are his REAL plans for when he takes office? I wonder if this is all a part of the standard Republican playbook now -- duplicate the other guy's promises, then once you're elected work for the oil and defense industries. It does seem that McDonnell is very pro-oil, as he wants to drill our coast right away.

That's all for now, and remember not to be discouraged. During the primaries, the Post's endorsement took Deeds from nowhere to winning the election. Anything can happen when the turnout is low, and so far I haven't seen anything to contradict predictions that this year's turnout will be low again. Just get out there and vote for Deeds, volunteer some time if you can, too. Let's give it our best try and hope that the honest candidate prevails!

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Here's our end-quote for the day:

http://www.youtube.co...