Monday, November 10, 2008

Terry McAuliffe for Va. gov?

Terry McAuliffe is officially in the running for the Virginia governor's race. Kos has the story and a reaction: Kos is officially against him. Me too.

I have to admit that I don't know a lot about Terry McAuliffe besides the fact that he ran the DNC, he's tight with the Clintons, and he's a master fundraiser. I've seen him on TV clips a few times; eternally optimistic, and apparently good at spinning, or at least trying to.

But the man is an operative, a behind-the-scenes guy who makes things happen for other people. He's obviously very good at that, but between the scene and the behind-the-scene is a line that shouldn't be crossed. I'm just not optimistic about an insider's insider running for a position like governor, particularly without having served in elective office before. I don't care enough to form an opinion about how he ran the DNC; my vague impression is that he did a competent job. He's topped out as an organization man. I'm guessing that running for governor of Virginia strikes him as an interesting challenge, and one where he could do some good. I agree that it would be an interesting challenge, but I also think that is a terrible reason for someone to run for office.

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