Fast Learner

Terry McAuliffe formerly served as chairman of the Democratic National Committee. He wants to succeed Tim Kaine -- who just accepted Barack Obama's invitation to become DNC chairman (see editorial below) -- as governor of Virginia.

McAuliffe's birth in Syracuse has led some in both parties to question his status as a Virginian. We happily report that McAuliffe has an engaging personality and is a fast learner. Unfortunately, he is learning the wrong lessons.

This week Attorney General Bob McDonnell -- the presumptive GOP gubernatorial nominee -- released his legislative wish list. He called on the General Assembly to "come together" to address the economic crisis. Because of the challenges relating to the shortfall, McDonnell proposed a "limited agenda." The attorney general emphasized items related to his office. He is the state's lawyer, not its budget director. If McDonnell had introduced a comprehensive economic package, he would have encroached on gubernatorial turf and, most likely, would have made it more difficult for the Assembly to sort out these difficult issues.

McAuliffe responded to McDonnell's prudent proposals with a hyperventilating release that blasted McDonnell for failing to address economic stimulus. The tone struck a familiar chord. Indeed, its grumpy partisanship recalled one of those emissions from the Virginia Republican Party that rips Tim Kaine and other Democrats for breathing. We have taken the GOP to task for precisely this approach; the electorate has turned on Republicans for transforming everything into a partisan Armageddon. Our advice to McAuliffe is to find a different textbook.

Virginia's Democrats collectively seem to have descended to the lower levels, too. A party press release ripped McDonnell with relish. Of course, if McDonnell had submitted a detailed budget proposal, partisans and other bantams would have blasted him for exceeding his authority and for politicizing the attorney general's office. And so it goes.