Mr. Deeds goes under the bus

By Ralph Alter

Oh, the wheels on the Obama Bus go round and round, this time running over Virginia Democrat candidate for governer, Creigh Deeds. Long before Election Day, the frontrunners in the White House are already teaming with national party leaders to absolve the foundering President of responsibility for the debacle they anticipate in November.

Rosalind S. Helderman and Anne E. Kornblut report in the Washington Post:

"A senior administration official said Deeds badly erred on several fronts, including not doing a better job of coordinating with the White House. "I understood in the beginning why there was some reluctance to run all around the state with Barack Obama," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in order to speak candidly about the race. "You don't do that in Virginia. But when you consider the African American turnout that they need, and then when you consider as well they've got a huge problem with surge voters, younger voters, we were just a natural for them."

A second administration official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said: "Obama, Kaine and others had drawn a road map to victory in Virginia. Deeds chose another path."

The averages from leading national polling organizations have Deeds trailing Republican candidate McDonnell by double digits.

Obama staffers are clearly attempting to avoid any association with what looks like a losing cause. Apparently the Obama "magic" is lost on the voters of Virginia, just as it was lost on former Governor Doug Wilder, the first African-American elected to statewide office there. Despite being plied by Obama political director Patrick Gaspard and Obama himself, Wilder chose to remain on the sidelines in this race.

Heaven forbid that Americans might recognize the handwriting Obama staffers clearly see on the wall:

"A loss for Deeds in Virginia -- which for the first time in decades supported the Democratic presidential candidate in last year's race -- would likely be seen as a sign that Obama's popularity is weakening in critical areas of the country. But the unusual preelection criticism could be an attempt to shield Obama from that narrative by ensuring that Deeds is blamed personally for the loss." (ibid WP)

We have seen this all before with Obama. Once you are no longer useful, you're on your own, pal. That's a change you can believe in.

Ralph Alter blogs at Right on Target