Three weeks ago, Virginia's three Democratic gubernatorial candidates "launched aggressive campaigns to woo the state's African American voters," 80 percent of whom are registered Democrats. The candidates' plans "tailored messages" to African Americans, including proposals to "increase the number of minority-owned businesses" and "combat childhood obesity."
Cute. But perhaps ineffectual!
Which is what made Monday's nasty development in the Great Virginian African American Pandering Tour of 2009 so very funny and sad and pathetic to watch unfold.
[Terry] McAuliffe, who was chairman of the [Hillary] Clinton campaign, is knocking down a radio commercial on black-oriented stations by Democratic gubernatorial rival Brian J. Moran that questions his support of Obama.
The McAuliffe-Moran duel, coming three weeks before the primary, spotlights the significance of the African-American vote in the June 9 balloting.
And there it is, Brian Moran's new "tailored message" to "woo the state's African American voters" in a (somewhat) last minute hit: Terry McAuliffe hated Barack Obama! And Barack Obama is black! Well, it does pack more of a visceral punch than, "I will fight childhood obesity with more after-school programs."
(And you MUST listen to Brian Moran's radio ad. Is that... is that a hip-hop beat? )
McAuliffe, of course, did chair the Clinton campaign through its cerebral, turbulent final days, when Clinton was telling voters in Florida and Michigan that Barack Obama was trying to steal their civil rights, because he didn't respect them. But you can't really blame these late-period erratics on McAuliffe, who by then was just getting drunk with blonde ladies on the MSNBC morning show every day.
Anyway, McAuliffe did retaliate against Moran with a rapid-response ad later in the day. Its message: Terry McAuliffe loves Brian Moran!
African-American voters across Virginia, meanwhile, were left confused about why these two nuts were trying to win them over by arguing over who loves Barack Obama more.
Jim Newell writes for Wonkette and IvyGate.
