Going Positive

Gov. Tim Kaine, Rep. Jim Moran, former DNC head Terry McAuliffe, Doug Wilder -- and no doubt many other influential Democrats -- have a message for Creigh Deeds: Tell Virginia what you're for, not just what you're against. A Washington Post poll shows Deeds trailing badly. If he is to win, something must change. It may be too late. Deeds' negativism may have been the campaign's crucial hinge.

Deeds has made Bob McDonnell's grad-school thesis the centerpiece of his campaign. Now, there's certainly nothing wrong with questioning your opponent's political philosophy. Conservatives who took out after statements made long ago by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor are in no position to gripe that the past should be off-limits.

What's more, the thesis provides plenty of good fodder. In addition to the most notorious passages about homosexuals, fornication, working women, and contraception -- much of which McDonnell has backed away from -- it also includes a fair amount of political philosophy McDonnell might be less inclined to repudiate. The Republican wrote, for instance, that "God has ordained the institution of civil government," and that "the civil ruler is a minister of God to execute judgment and encourage good." Does he still believe that? Would that perspective color his approach to running the state? If not, why has he changed his mind?

Those are legitimate questions. But by focusing on the thesis almost to the point of monomania, Deeds has offered the voters a potential reason to stay home -- not to go out and vote for him. McAuliffe, one of Deeds' opponents in the Democratic primary, might have invited snickers with his boisterous enthusiasm for turning chicken manure into a renewable energy source. But at least McAuliffe knew what he wanted to do, and left a sense that he would pursue his vision with energy and zeal. Deeds' most salient campaign plank is a passive one: He promises to sign a tax hike for roads if it lands on his desk (and he had to be goaded into that).

To compound the matter, Deeds has displayed a puzzling reluctance to debate McDonnell, or even to appear solo in the kind of unscripted public forums that are a staple of political campaigns. His campaign ads are mostly about . . . McDonnell. He has avoided TV appearances on FOX and CNBC. We haven't seen a candidate so reluctant to engage the public since Benjamin Harrison's front-porch campaign of 1888.

There's a huge difference between the sentiments, "Vote for me" and "Don't vote for him." Deeds has offered the public numerous arguments for the latter. He's offered precious few for the former -- which leaves one wondering if he has any.