Richmond Times-Dispatch: Place an Ad | Subscribe | Manage Account | Advertise With Us

Candidates try their hand at being comics

By Jim Nolan
Published: February 12, 2009
Updated: February 12, 2009

The four men vying to be the next governor tried their hand at telling jokes to reporters at last night's Virginia Capitol Correspondents Association dinner.

Maybe they should stick to their day jobs.

Three Democrats who face off in a June 9 primary -- former Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe, state Sen. R. Creigh Deeds of Bath County and former Del. Brian J. Moran of Alexandria -- shared the bill with Attorney General Bob McDonnell, the presumptive Republican nominee.

Come November, there can be only one.

But last night at the Berkeley Hotel in downtown Richmond, they used the occasion to exchange some good-humored barbs.

Fittingly, McDonnell sat on the far right of the dais in the hotel's crowded and stuffy basement dining room, while Moran sat on the far left and McAuliffe and Deeds occupied the middle ground.

Each candidate used his eight minutes of allotted time at the podium to poke fun at the other three and pay homage to the two journalists honored by the correspondents group.

"I kind of feel like a guy who's president of Tyson's Chicken sitting down with the board of PETA," said McDonnell, the outnumbered Republican candidate.

Deeds noted that McDonnell was leaving his government job in the spirit of moving Virginia forward.

"You know what?" Deeds said to McDonnell. "I couldn't agree with you more."

McAuliffe, the third to speak, poked fun at himself for being considered a carpetbagger in Virginia politics.

"It's great to be here with you tonight in Tallahassee," he said. "Come on, folks, you know I'm kidding. I've always wanted to run for governor of New York."

Moran suggested that if running for governor doesn't work out, the three Democrats should take their show on the road.

"Creigh has been playing the violin since 2005," referring to Deeds' narrow loss to McDonnell in the attorney general's race. "Terry likes to toot his own horn, and I want to beat Bob McDonnell like a drum."

Joint appearances by the four candidates are rare. The first was Dec. 2 during Associated Press Day at the Capital, held at the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

This year, the correspondents organization used its annual get-together -- traditionally held at the midpoint of the General Assembly session -- to recognize two former members, one posthumously, for their distinguished service in bringing news from the Capitol to the rest of the commonwealth.

James H. Latimer of The Times-Dispatch and Robert H. Melton of The Washington Post make up the inaugural Hall of Fame class. Their names will be enshrined in the state Capitol near the workspace used by journalists in the Capitol press corps.

Latimer, who died in 2000 at age 86, worked at The Times-Dispatch from 1937 to 1991, covering the rise and fall of the conservative Democratic machine of the late Sen. Harry F. Byrd Sr. He covered 16 national political conventions and 12 Virginia governors.

Melton, 51, joined The Post in 1982 and worked for 20 years as a reporter and editor for the newspaper's national and metro desks. His specialty was reporting on state and local government in Maryland, Washington and particularly Virginia.

Melton suffered a brain injury in September 2003 and retired from The Post. He lives in Richmond.

Contact Jim Nolan at (804) 649-6061 or .