Hillarysworld

Obama throws Deeds under the bus.  What's up?

By Rosalind S. Helderman

Washington Post Staff Writer

Saturday, October 24, 2009

"Virginia Democratic candidate R. Creigh Deeds said Friday that he was confused and frustrated by statements from senior aides to President Obama that Deeds had rejected their advice in running his campaign for governor as some state party activists denounced what they saw as a betrayal by advisers to a president they helped elect a year ago.

Deeds said he was puzzled by the comments from unnamed Obama administration officials who said that he had virtually no chance to defeat Republican Robert F. McDonnell and that such a loss would reflect on Deeds's failings rather than on Obama's popularity.

They said that Deeds, who has been trailing in the polls, coordinated poorly with the White House and failed to adequately reach out to the constituencies that helped Obama become the first Democrat in 40 years to win Virginia.

"It is frustrating to read, because that's not what we've been hearing from anybody over there," Deeds said. "I'm just not sure where the talk is coming from. It just doesn't make sense. . . . There's been no disagreements between us of which I'm aware."

The Democratic National Committee, under the leadership of Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D), has invested heavily in the race, and Obama will rally with Deeds in Norfolk on Tuesday.

Kaine called the remarks "not helpful."

"You don't do this for as long as we've done it and for as long as Creigh's done it without having your own internal sense of having good days and bad days," he said.

Deeds said his effort had seen a surge of volunteers Friday. Activists at an afternoon rally with Sen. James Webb (D) in Alexandria said they were eager to prove anonymous naysayers wrong, even those from their party's top echelon.

But some Democrats also expressed deep worry that the public disagreement with Washington could hurt efforts to turn out the Democratic base, which polls have shown lacks enthusiasm for Deeds, and could damage Democratic candidates for lieutenant governor, attorney general and the House of Delegates.

"When it comes out of the White House, this Monday morning quarterbacking stuff before the election even happens, it's devastating to the whole ticket," said David "Mudcat" Saunders, a political strategist who worked to elect now-U.S. Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) governor in 2001 and Webb to the U.S. Senate in 2006. "I think Obama ought to find who did this to us, and I think he ought to fire 'em. It's totally without character."

Paul Goldman, a Richmond activist and former chairman of the Democratic Party of Virginia, called the tactics "bush league," an attempt to send a message to Democrats about crossing the White House without regard to the damage it might cause the state party and its candidates.

"It's take-no-prisoners," he said. "It's exactly the kind of thing we voted out of office."" rest of article here:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/23/AR2009102303899.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/23/AR2009102303899.html

And from the morning DJ, this song goes out to Deeds and the Dems...