Opinion
McAuliffe: South of the Mason-Dixon
By: Jeff Dufour
Editor at Large/Columnist, "Yeas & Nays"
01/08/09 10:05 PM EST
 |
It's a long way from Syracuse, N.Y., to Lynchburg, Va. Just ask Terry McAuliffe. As the former DNC chief and Clinton confidante ramps up his run for governor of Virginia, he's started to take heat for pronouncing some words a bit too, well, southern.
As pointed out in The Washington Post, an attendee at McAuliffe's recent campaign event in Richmond accused him of purposely dropping his G’s when speaking, in an attempt to sound more southern.
But when we heard McAuliffe's first radio spot, which also appears on his Web site, we couldn't help but wonder whether there's even more evidence to suggest that McAuliffe is puttin' on the grits.
"This is Terry McAuliffe," he intones. "For nearly 20 years, Virginia's been mah home."
Later in the ad, he throws in some "folksy" charm: "I don't have to tell you: Folks are worried."
And later still, one of those famous dropped g's: "That's why I'm askin' you to join my campaign."
It's not unusual, said his spokeswoman, Delacey Skinner. "You can do a YouTube search for 'Terry McAuliffe' and you'll find that he says 'fightin,'" among other dropped-g words. "He's always dropped his g's."
None of his opponents would touch it. "That's up to voters to judge," said a spokesman for Brian Moran, who's running against McAuliffe in the Democratic primary.
"He's got a couple strong candidates running against him," said a spokesman for state Attorney General Bob McDonnell, the presumptive GOP nominee. "We're focused on our own campaign."
Is McAuliffe putting on a southern accent? Click here to listen to his ad.
Follow The Examiner
