Decision Virginia

Here is my report from NBC12 News at 11 on President Barack Obama’s visit to Norfolk on behalf of Creigh Deeds.

It is perhaps the last chance for Creigh Deeds to turn around his campaign for Governor. This afternoon, the President of the United States will headline a rally for the Democratic nominee at Old Dominion University in Norfolk.  Despite Barack Obama’s visible support at a rally that is certain to get heavy media attention, Deeds is still running uphill against polls that show the race slipping away and indications that the White House isn’t interested in tying itself too closely to his campaign.

Yesterday, the Washington Post released a poll that showed the Republican Bob McDonnell with an 11 point lead. A poll released by Survey USA this morning, shows McDonnell up 17 points and finally Public Policy Polling’s numbers have the GOP nominee up 15. The latest Real Clear Politics average has McDonnell up by double-digit margins and it doesn’t include the two polls released this morning.

In addition to McDonnell’s commanding lead, all three polls show healthy leads for the down-ballot Republicans as well.

But it is not just ugly poll numbers that the Deeds campaign woke up to this morning that threatens to put a damper on what should be a key moment in the campaign. In addition to a heavily read story last week by the Washington Post that featured anonymous White House staffers distancing the President from Deed’s troubles, today many Democrats are pushing the internal data from the Washington Post poll that indicates that Virginia voters don’t blame Barack Obama if Creigh Deeds isn’t successful.

It is not the kind of story, you’d expect Democrats to be touting if they thought today’s rally with the President was the key to the Deeds comeback with only one week to go.

The Deeds/Obama rally is set to start around 5pm this evening. We will have complete coverage on NBC12 during our early evening newscasts and a wrap of the event tonight at 11pm.

Any thought that the President of the United States was working to avoid getting involved in the race in Virginia can now officially be erased. Despite Creigh Deeds trailing in every single public poll, Barack Obama has decided to go “all in” in a last ditch effort to get the  Democrat elected Virginia’s next Governor.

In addition to scheduling his second visit to Virginia on behalf of the Deeds’ campaign, Mr. Obama is featured in a new television ad, where he encourages the voters in the Old Dominion who helped him become the first Democrat in 44 years win a presidential election in Virginia to come out and support Deeds.

While the President did not shoot any new material to create the ad, it does feature video from Obama’s previous visit to the Commonwealth in support of Mr. Deeds. At one point he asks the crowd “to get fired up once again so that we can go towards the future, with Creigh Deeds leading the great Commonwealth of Virginia.”

The ad can be seen below:

It is not only significant that the White House has deemed the Deeds’ campaign a worthwhile investment, but the new ad demonstrates a marked shift in the Deeds’ campaign strategy. While Mr. Deeds has never separated himself from the President, he has not gone out of his way to embrace him. He of course, refused to call himself an “Obama Democrat” during the second Gubernatorial debate. It was something I asked him about during our exclusive interview last week.

This very public connection between Deeds and Obama, could show the campaign’s effort to fire up a base that polls show to be less than enthusiastic about the Democrats’ campaign.

UPDATE:

The Deeds’ campaign has confirmed that President Obama will travel to Old Dominion University for a rally next Tuesday. The latest details are after the jump.

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The Republican nominee for Governor and Virginia’s former Attorney General, Bob McDonnell will be my exclusive guest today (Monday) on NBC12 First at 4. McDonnell’s opponent, Sen. Creigh Deeds appeared on First at 4 on Thursday.

McDonnell’s appearance comes with only about two weeks left in the campaign and on the heels of a bit of momentum for his opponent. Sen. Deeds picked up the endorsement of the Washington Post over the weekend and learned that both President Barack Obama and former President Bill Clinton will stump for him in Virginia prior to election day.

However, McDonnell is brimming with confidence. He has held a steady, if not commanding lead in the polls since the beginning and has become the poster child for the Republican recovery around the rest of the nation. We will touch on McDonnell’s role in national politics as well as getting his take on transportation, his controversial masters thesis and more today at 4pm on NBC12-TV. If you can’t get to a television in the Richmond area at that time, First at Four is streamed live on NBC12.com, and I will post the entire interview here on Decision Virginia soon after the program ends.

As Democratic candidate for Governor, Creigh Deeds promised me on Thursday, President Barack Obama will return to Virginia in support of his campaign. The White House and The Deeds campaign confirmed that Obama will join Deeds at an event on Tuesday October, 27th. Exactly one week before election day.

The specifics of the event, (where in Virginia and at what time) have yet to be released. In part for security reasons and in part so the Deed press operation can get at least two more big media cycles out of the visit. (The release of the location and the event itself). Deeds staffers told me yesterday all they know is the that the event will be “somewhere in the Commonwealth.” The Deeds team was visibly excited when they learned of the President’s confirmation and are hopeful this could lead the burst of momentum at the end that their candidate is known for.

Meanwhile, the Republican Bob McDonnell brings star power of his own to Virginia today (Saturday). Sen. John McCain, the most recent Republican nominee for President will headline a “Veterans for McDonnell” rally in Virginia Beach. While McCain lost Virginia to the current President last year, he still remains popular in parts of the Old Dominion, particularly with Veterans’ groups. McDonnell, who often points to his own military record, is hopeful that McCain can help to energize that voting block.

The McCain event takes place at the VFW Post 392 in Virginia Beach. The doors open at 10am, the program begins at 10:30am.

Ryan Nobles – bio | email

Democratic candidate for Governor, State Senator Creigh Deeds told me today in an exclusive interview on NBC12 First at Four, that President Barack Obama will return to Virginia to campaign on his behalf. Deeds said the event will happen sometime between now and election day.

Here is the transcript of the exchange:

Ryan Nobles: Is President Obama going to comeback to Virginia and campaign on your behalf?

Creigh Deeds: President Obama will be back in Virginia, yes.

Ryan Nobles: But to campaign for you?

Creigh Deeds: He will be back to campaign for me. You know he has been in Virginia a number of times, on you know Government policy, I did not feel like it was appropriate for me to cross the line and try to blur politics with policy.

Ryan Nobles: But you say, within the next 19 days we will see you and Barack Obama, standing on a stage in Virginia.

Creigh Deeds: You will, yes.

Ryan Nobles: Now in the past, at a recent debate, you refused to call yourself an “Obama Democrat”. Are you concerned that an association like this, in a big public forum could turn off independent voters?

Creigh Deeds: You know, I support the President, but I will not visit my sins upon anyone else. I support the President I support the President, I think he is doing a good job, I worked hard for his election last year I want him to be successful. It is in the interest of every single American citizen that he be successful as President of the United States, But I speak for myself, I am my own kind of Democrat and I have always been a Creigh Deeds Democrat.

Deeds and I also spoke about Transportation, Taxes and his state in the polls. The full interview can be seen below:

Don’t forget, that the Republican Bob McDonnell joins me on Monday. That interview has already been taped and also promises to make some news. Stay tuned.

Despite mixed signals about another visit to Virginia from President Barack Obama, for candidate Creigh Deeds, today the campaign announced that Former Vice President Al Gore would headline a fundraiser for the Democrat. Gore will join Deeds at the home of Al and Claire Dwoskin, longtime supporters of Virginia Democrats.

The fundraiser is set to take place this Friday. There will not be a companion public rally, for Deeds supporters.

While Mr. Obama has still not agreed to another visit in support of Deeds, he has made plans to stump for New Jersey Governor John Corzine, who is now locked in a race that is too close to call.

While the President hasn’t made his way South of the Potomac for Mr. Deeds, he  did visit a construction site in Northern Virginia today to highlight examples of the Federal Government’s stimulus plan at work. The visit was a White House function, not a political one and Deeds did not take part. The candidate did however release a statement calling the visit an example of ways the  “Recovery Act is making a real difference in the lives of Virginians.”

Republicans did not view the President’s photo opportunity the same way. The RPV released a statement that featured a headline that read “Obama visit highlights rift with Deeds, roads spending failure.”

You can read the statements from Deeds and the RPV on the Obama visit after the jump.

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Former Governor of Virginia and Mayor of Richmond L. Douglas Wilder told me this afternoon that he knows who he plans to endorse in the race for his old position and is set to make that announcement “tomorrow or maybe the next day.”

Wilder told me that in this week alone he has had conversations with representatives from both the White House and Governor’s office.  Wilder also said that he has met, in person, with both candidates, Republican Bob McDonnell and Democrat Creigh Deeds, as well.

Last night at a forum held at Virginia Union University, which specifically dealt with issues facing the African-American community, McDonnell mentioned his work with Wilder on multiple occasions. After his remarks McDonnell told me that he is still actively courting the former Governor’s support.  ”I would be honored and delighted to get an endorsement or some sort of support from such a historic figure,” said McDonnell.

While Wilder, in his trademark fashion, has appeared to give McDonnell fainting hope that he may break party ranks, few believe that the nation’s first black governor will not stick with his fellow Democrat. Wilder has often reminded reporters that he has never endorsed a Republican in a race of this magnitude. His former close aide Paul Goldman recently told me that his former boss would not risk alienating his relationship with President Barack Obama, who has made it clear to Wilder who he would like him to support.

Wilder would not tip his hand during our conversation today, but perhaps provided some insight when I asked him if it was realistic to propose a transportation plan that does not include raising taxes.  The former Governor, who dealt with his own share of fiscal turmoil during his time in office, laughed and said, “that will be part of what I talk about when I share my endorsement.”  The transportation debate took an interesting turn today, when Senator Deeds revealed his plan in an editorial in the Washington Post and the Fairfax Chamber of Commerce endorsed McDonnell, based largely on his plan to deal with the issue.

Wilder did tell me that his announcement will not come in the form of a raucous rally or even a press conference. He said he plans to release a simple statement regarding his support. When I asked if his endorsement will include active campaigning or stumping for his chosen candidate, he simply said, “We will have to see, won’t we?”

Once again perhaps Richmond’s most prolific politician has us all waiting on the edge of our seats.

Below, find Bob McDonnell’s comments from last night’s forum at VUU.

On Thursday, the two candidates for governor of Virginia face what could be the biggest stage in the campaign to this point. With at least one poll indicating that the race has tightened up, the forum could play a vital role in the direction of the contest.

The debate won’t be seen by a very large audience. The affair is hosted by the Fairfax Chamber of Commerce. While it won’t have the same type of exposure that prime-time televised statewide debate would have, the event is expected to receive an incredible amount of media coverage.

I will be at the debate and will be moderating a liveblog on NBC12.com. Please feel free to join in to the discussion. The debate begins at 10:30am, we will start our liveblog around 10:20am. I will then have a complete wrap up of the event on NBC12 news starting with First at Four.

Meanwhile..

The Creigh Deeds campaign began an effort to change the tone of the discussion surrounding the campaign. Today, senior Deeds advisers held a press conference call to discuss the state of the race. They said that Virginians are not interested in many of the federal issues that their opponent, Bob McDonnell is touting.

Supporters of Deeds claim that issues like health care reform, card-check and cap and trade are not issues the Governor of Virginia will have to deal with and Virginians, in general want answers about Virginia specific issues.  Here is a clip from my conversation with Mark Warner today where he addresses how Deeds should bring the focus of the campaign back to the Commonwealth.

“This is not a federal election. This is about who is going to be the Governor in Richmond and whether over the last 7 or 8 years we have found that common ground, you know, Democrats, Republicans, business leaders where we have been constantly named best-managed state, best state for business, and continue that or go in the opposite direction.”
-Sen. Mark Warner

But is there more to it than that? While Deeds has fundraised and campaigned with President Barack Obama, there is a sense that Creigh Deeds is hoping to make this election more about Virginia issues in an effort to make it less about the President and his administration. Today on that same conference call Deeds advisers said the President is welcome to come back to Virginia, but he won’t be the deciding factor in this race.

Today on NBC12 First at Four, the upcoming debate’s moderator David Gregory told me that the role of Barack Obama in the Virginia election is a dicey one for the democrats.

“It is a double edge sword of course, because a lot of his strength as a Democrat comes from Northern Virginia and getting that vote out, so Obama can be vital there, but I think this is an important time right now for Creigh Deeds to focus on Virginia as Senator Warner suggested and as you’ve seen him do over the last couple of days, try to link arms with Governor Kaine and Senator Warner, that he wants to be seen very much in that image.”
-David Gregory, Debate Moderator
Meet the Press Host

The entire interview previewing the debate can be seen below:

It was a rally that had the potential to inject new life into the campaign of State Senator Creigh Deeds. Thursday night President Barack Obama delivered his trademark enthusiasm, but he also used the opportunity to answer critics of his administration.

At least half of his approximately 30 minute speech, was dedicated to federal issues and the criticism his administration has received during his early days in office. The President passionately defended his stimulus plan, his efforts to provide assistance to people out of work and his plan to give tax cuts for the middle class.

But the President did not stop at touting his own accomplishments, he went right after critics, namely Republicans, who are attacking him, by hammering the previous administration.

“When I walked in we had a one point three trillion dollar deficit, that was gift-wrapped and waiting for me when I walked into the oval office,” said President Obama.

Obama, who is accustom to massive rallies of tens of thousands of people in Virginia, was greeted by a much smaller crowd for this rally. There were just under 1,500 people in attendance, the maximum allowed in the same ballroom at the Hilton McLean that Virginia democrats used to celebrate his victory last November. Before the event, Obama headlined a high dollar fundraiser where tickets reportedly went for $2,300 a pop.

((More on the President’s event can be found after the jump))

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