Stay tuned, things will get stimulating

For three of the four men pining to be Virginia's next governor, questions about the federal stimulus are, mercifully, hypothetical at the moment.

Not for Sen. Creigh Deeds. The Bath County Democrat devoted the better part of Wednesday afternoon to spending $1 billion from Virginia's share of the massive aid package.

He admitted to mixed feelings as he took a break from state budget debates and cranked up The Beatles' " Ticket to Ride" in his Richmond office.

"The stimulus package pulled our rear ends out of the fire," he said. "But there's a long-term cost to this deficit spending in terms of devaluating the dollar, inflation and increased debt."

By the time the next governor takes office in January, President Obama's transfusion of federal stimulus dollars will be roaring through the veins of Virginia schools, colleges and health care programs. Whether it jolts the economy back to life or hemorrhages into a costly failure, it will be too late for Virginia's next chief executive to say "No thanks."

But, there's a good chance Obama and Congress will spend years grappling with the recession and assembling a series of beefy, controversial relief measures. That makes it harder for Virginia's gubernatorial candidates to stay out of the debate over the first package.

Not surprisingly, the four split along party lines. Deeds and the other Democrats competing for the nomination - Terry McAuliffe and Brian Moran - generally favor the plan. "This stimulus will put Virginians back to work," Moran said.

Republican Bob McDonnell is the lone critic, saying "This bill contains significant categories of spending that may do little to help the economy."

McDonnell has praised GOP congressional members who voted against the plan, saying the increased debt "is not going to be good long-term for America," but he says he believes Virginia should collect its share of the stimulus anyway.

All save three of 219 GOP congressional members voted against the plan, but Republican governors are less united as they struggle with budget deficits. High-profile supporters include Florida's Charlie Crist, California's Arnold Schwarzenegger and Connecticut's Jodi Rell. Among the opponents are Louisiana's Bobby Jindal, Texas' Rick Perry and Alaska's Sarah Palin.

A handful of those governors are considering returning at least part of the stimulus relief, although none has made good on the threat.

"It's totally hypocritical," McAuliffe said. "The money going back to the states is taxpayer money. This is their money."

Most GOP governors, and a good many Democrats as well, have stayed out of the fracas, quietly scribbling up their wish lists and waiting for the checks to arrive. But they will face touchy choices when it's time to divvy up the dollars, and the new guy in Richmond next year will, too. For example, transportation dollars require states to give priority to projects in regions with high unemployment, which could boost rural highway construction while short-changing congested areas of Hampton Roads and Northern Virginia.

Those are the kinds of decisions that will turn a hypothetical question on the campaign trail into a real ulcer-burner for the winner of this year's gubernatorial race.

Christina Nuckols is an editorial writer for The Virginian-Pilot. E-mail her at christina.nuckols @pilotonline.com.