Taegan Goddard's Political Wire

October 23, 2009

Blame Game Starts in Virginia

There's no better sign that Creigh Deeds (D) is about to lose the Virginia governor's race than a front page Washington Post piece that has White House officials laying the groundwork to blame the loss on "a weak candidate" who "failed to fully embrace President Obama until days before the election."

Said one official: "Obama, Kaine and others had drawn a road map to victory in Virginia. Deeds chose another path."

"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, particularly given the state's three-decade pattern of backing candidates from the party out of power in the White House."

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Related Entries

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• On Breaking the GOP Losing Streak in Virginia
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• McDonnell on the Way to Big Win
• McDonnell Leads GOP Comeback in Virginia
• McDonnell Widens Lead Over Deeds
• Deeds Running Behind Even in Rural Areas
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Taegan D. Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country, including the Washington Post, USA Today, Boston Globe, San Francisco Chronicle, Chicago Tribune, Philadelphia Inquirer and Christian Science Monitor.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

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