Public option dogs Deeds
By: William C. Flook
Examiner Staff Writer
October 22, 2009
 |
| MCLEAN, VA - JULY 6: U.S. President Barack Obama (R) speaks at a fundraiser and rally for Virginia State Sen. Creigh Deeds (L), the Democratic nominee for governor of Virginia, as Vriginia Governor Tim Caine looks on August 6, 2009 in McLean, Virginia. Deeds is in the gubernatorial race with Republican Attorney General Bob McDonnell (Photo by Joshua Roberts-Pool/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Creigh Deeds;Tim Caine;Barack Obama (Getty Images) |
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Creigh Deeds launched a television ad Wednesday closely linking himself with President Obama, a day after publicly backing away from a public health care option endorsed by the president.
The two moves illustrate Deeds' conundrum as he enters the home stretch of the Virginia governor's race: How to stir the mass of Obama voters in Virginia without associating himself too closely with national policy goals that could alienate moderate voters.
Deeds, at the final debate of the race Tuesday night with Republican Bob McDonnell, said creating the option of a government-run health care plan "isn't a priority of mine."
"I don't think the public option is necessary in any plan...I would certainly consider opting out if that were available to Virginia," Deeds said. "I think we have to find ways to increase competition in order to reduce costs."
He has similarly distanced himself from the Obama-backed cap-and-trade proposal on carbon emissions now before Congress.
With the Democratic nominee struggling in polls, an aggressive campaign by Obama to help Deeds represents "one of the few possible paths to victory," said Stephen Farnsworth, a professor of political science at George Mason University.
"Angering Democrats is not a victory strategy," he said.
Deeds remarks sparked disappointment among Virginia's Democratic blogosphere and prompted the state Republican party to attempt to pin down the other statewide Democratic candidates on where they stood on the public option.
Deeds has made strong overtures recently to the nearly 2 million Virginia voters who cast their ballot for Obama last year. The president will make a second visit to the commonwealth next week to campaign for Deeds at Old Dominion University.
The ad released on Wednesday quotes directly Obama's speech from his first visit for Deeds in August.
"Last year, Virginia you helped lead a movement of Americans who believed that their voices could make a difference, that's what we need to do in his race, that's what Creigh Deeds is committed to," Obama said.
