WashPost endorses Deeds for governor

The Washington Post is endorsing Democratic candidate and state Sen. Creigh Deeds in this year's race for governor.

The newspaper's stated support -- while not too surprising, given their previous endorsement of Deeds in the Democratic primary -- could perhaps help the candidate make the final push against GOP candidate Bob McDonnell, who currently leads Deeds in early polls.

Writes the Post about its decision:

"If the current campaign for governor has clarified anything, it is that state Sen. R. Creigh Deeds, the Democratic nominee, has the good sense and political courage to maintain the forward-looking policies of the past while addressing the looming challenge of fixing the state's dangerously inadequate roads. The Republican candidate, former attorney general Robert F. McDonnell, offers something different: a blizzard of bogus, unworkable, chimerical proposals, repackaged as new ideas, that crumble on contact with reality. They would do little if anything to build a better transportation system."

Additionally, the Post also criticized McDonnell for his ambiguous platform on social issues, which the newspaper described as a "prescription for yesterday's Virginia, not tomorrow's." The editorial board noted the public clamor about McDonnell's 1989 college thesis -- "in which he disparaged working women, homosexuals, 'fornicators' and others of whom he disapproved" -- has in no way clarified how McDonnell feels about signature social issues, from same-sex marriage to abortion rights.

But Sunday's key endorsement only underscores the challenges Deeds still faces in his quest to win this year's gubernatorial race. The most recent Post poll showed the Democrat trailing McDonnell by nine points, 44 percent to 53 percent. More importantly, the Post's measure also showed most voters preferred how McDonnell would handle the state's key policy issues -- a clear break from the newspaper's stated belief that Deeds is better equipped to tackle those topics.

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