DENVER
Virginia is among 18 “battleground” states that will determine the outcome of this fall’s presidential race, a top strategist for Democrat Barack Obama said Monday.
“Virginia is very close,” said David Plouffe, Obama’s national campaign manager, during a new conference.
He said Virginia and North Carolina have “huge numbers” of African Americans and young people who either have not registered to vote or have gone to the polls sporadically.
“They are rich targets for us,” Plouffe said. The campaign is trying to register 151,000 new Virginia voters in places that might be friendly to Obama: inner cities, college towns and regions suffering from high unemployment.
Plouffe spoke with reporters Monday just hours before the opening of the four-day
Democratic National Convention, where Obama is to be chosen as the party’s presidential nominee and Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware to be the vice presidential nominee.
Plouffe said the campaign hopes to benefit in Virginia from the popularity of former Gov. Mark Warner, who is running for the U.S. Senate this fall. Warner, a Democrat, appears to be the strong frontrunner in the race against former Gov. Jim Gilmore, a Republican.
Virginia has voted Republican in 10 straight presidential elections. The last Democrat to carry the state was Lyndon Johnson in 1964, who outpolled Republican Barry Goldwater.
Jeff Frederick, chairman of the Virginia Republican Party, dismissed Plouffe’s comments as a feeble attempt to generate positive press.
“With all the euphoria … I’m surprised they didn’t put Virginia in their column,” he said Monday.
Frederick predicted that Republican John McCain will extend the GOP winning streak in Virginia this fall. “Virginians aren’t liberal and Obama is the most liberal member of the Senate,” he said.
Plouffe stopped short of predicting a victory in Virginia or saying that Obama needs to carry the state to win the White House. He based his presentation on Electoral College votes; a presidential candidate needs 270 to win.
Plouffe said Obama has an edge in states with 200 collective electoral votes and McCain has an advantage in states totaling 139 electoral votes.
The outcome of the election, he said, will hinge on 18 highly competitive states with a total of 139 electoral votes. Virginia has 13 electoral votes and North Carolina has 15 – “a big combined take,” Plouffe said.
Plouffe said that in most of the competitive states, the campaign is focusing on registering likely Obama supporters to vote and making sure they go to the polls by putting together precinct organizations.
He said Obama could draw well over 90 percent of the African American vote and two-thirds of the Hispanic vote and a strong majority of young voters, although he did not offer a precise estimate.
Plouffe noted that in Florida in the 2004 presidential race, Democrat John Kerry lost to Republican George Bush by 380,000 votes. Plouffe said 1.4 million registered African Americans and young voters from the state did not cast ballots.
Kerry also lost Colorado to Bush by 100,000 votes. Plouffe lamented that there were 130,000 unregistered blacks and Hispanics in the state on Election Day.
Plouffe said the Obama campaign will stress an economic message at the Democratic National Convention this week and try to tie McCain to many of the Bush administration’s unpopular policies.
“We’re going to make it abundantly clear this week that John McCain offers more of the same,” he said. “If you’re happy with the direction of this country, then you should vote for John McCain.”
Pilot writer Julian Walker contributed to this story.
Warren Fiske, (804) 697-1565, warren.fiske@pilotonline.com
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Obama? No thank you.
What do Obama supporters think will happen if Obama raises small business taxes, raises the minimum wage to $9.50, and so on? Do they really think this could ever improve our economy?
If Obama follows through with his plans then we will see massive unemployment as businesses cut costs to stay profitable. He is pandering to the masses of underachievers, promising increased wages on one hand, and then promising to raise business taxes on the other.
Mr. Obama, you are misguided at best. Dangerous and deceitful when you examine the details.
You still dodged my original question.
I think you did not read the articles on the American Empire project. You just quickly scanned it made a few assumptions and moved on. You did not reference the contributors with military experience you just saw the ads for books.
Whats' your next mission swift boating?
disagree part II
Incidentally, there are soldiers in my own unit who disagree with my assessment of the surge. They are in the minority in my unit but they are out there.
The majority of the frustration with the war within the Army has to do with the grind of multiple tours and being away from the family for so long, not with the war itself.
of course some veterans disagree
The military is not some monolithic organization. It is comprised of Americans of all kinds and is arguably more diverse than any other sector of American society. I never said my opinion was more valid. Based on MY experiences, I believe the surge was a success. Based on their experiences, plenty of other vets believe otherwise. This is to be expected.
I just wasted 10 minutes of my life rereading some of my earlier postings and I cannot see where you can call me disingenuous for trying to encourage a civil debate.
I have looked at the American Empire Project in the past. There are some interesting things there but the fact that it prominently touts Noam Chomsky and books like "A Question of Torture" and "Blood and Oil" says a lot.
There are veterans of Iraq that disagree with you too?
I suggest you read this: http://www.americanempireproject.com/
huh?
"Also, your post to John Hutchinson yesterday was hardly civil."
What are you talking about?
I made a mistake
The post to John Hutchinson was by CB. However, it is disingenuous for you to talk about a civil debate. Go back and read your posts.
opinion not distortion
I never claimed to have a complete view of Iraq. I did say the surge was a success in my opinion, based on what I personally observed and Iraqis with whom I spoke over the course of multiple tours. As I said before, I am not able to get into detail about what I did in Iraq. I am not hiding behind anything, I am merely honoring my obligations. You responded by calling me the Green Lantern. I never claimed "special knowledge," whatever that means, and there is no way for me to confirm my combat experience in any case. All I said was that I have the point of view of someone who has personally been there, as opposed to ingesting whatever the media chooses to report. Let me break it down for you. a) I spent a good part of the last several years in Iraq as a soldier - believe me or don't. b) My opinion is that the surge worked, based on 'a' above. I am not alone: http://www.vetsforfreedom.org/. I am accountable to a lot of people. You, however, are not one of them.
You still dodge the big question.
Please tell me what do you perceive to be the mission is in Iraq? What will define victory? Straightforward questions.
Also, your post to John Hutchinson yesterday was hardly civil.
One distortion?
One distortion is you claim to have a complete view of what is occurring in Iraq. A trained observer would be less general and would have offered more specifics. You claim special knowledge without any confirmation.
Just driving around Iraq is a rather myopic view.
example, please
Kindly name one distortion I have presented. I can think of only one time I insulted somebody on purpose in a fit of frustration. I have since restrained myself because I recognize the inappropriateness of such behavior. If only everyone on the Pilot's boards were as civil.
correction:
I meant WITH impunity.
You refuse any sort of accountaility, cs
This is not a game of gotcha for me.
You keep dodging the tough questions.
Do you expect to post distortions without impunity?
not my job to justify my mission
I refuse to engage in your juvenile game of "gotcha." Any time in the past I have tried to answer one of your questions all you do in response if offer snide remarks or insults. I can't remember an instance when you offered anything constructive to the conversation.
As for "the satisfaction of our troops," where do you get off speaking for my fellow soldiers and me? An awful lot of us believe in what we're doing, which is one of the reasons why the reenlistment rate is so high in Iraq.
cs dodge
How about answering the questions to the satisfaction of our troops. I can only assume you support mission drift and strategic malaise.
grammatical boo boo
Should have proof read my previous post. I meant to say, "There's really no point in even attempting..." A thousand pardons.
great... it's george k again
There's really no point to even attempting to answer your questions. I was referring to a very specific matter in my last post and you decided to ask a question I could not possibly answer to your satisfaction. Therefore, I respectfully decline.
cs do you know what the Iraq mission is ?
Can you define victory in regards to Iraq?
Comparisions between Chicago & Iraq
are only relevant if one sees the relationship of monies spent on a war, (in the wrong country against the wrong people), not being used to fight crime, disease, low wages, inadequate housing, etc., within our cities. These problems, along with lack of health care, are major causes of death in our cities. The money going to Halliburton & it's subsidiaries alone, could pay for health care & raise the wages of thousands of our citizens. Before someone goes into their anti government health care rant; remember, the military, the USA Senate, Congress & the President, all benefit from government health care.
I'm a veteran myself, so I have used government health care.
it's called war
"When we have zero casualties, then I will said the surge is a success." There are still combat operations going on, hence there will be casualties. One cannot measure succes in combat solely on casualties and to say it isn't a success unless there are zero American deaths is unrealistic. Using this metric, D Day, the Battle of Gettysburg, the Battle at Yorktown, etc, were all failures. The fact that the US exists would suggest otherwise. "Don't let McCain and the news media influence how you measure success." I agree. One of the many problems with the way the war in Iraq is covered by the media is that battles are never put into context. The current US media would have reported the aforementioned battles with the following headlines: 6603 Americans Slaughtered in Normandy; Over 23,000 Union Soldiers Killed, Wounded or Missing in Pennsylvania Farmland; More Than 100 Patriots Cut Down in Virginia Battle.