Divining the relevance of McDonnell's thesis

The conservative social agenda outlined in a graduate thesis two decades ago by Republican Bob McDonnell is no surprise to those who know the gubernatorial candidate and have followed his career.

More troubling is the document's hostile tone toward those who do not share his beliefs and those who have struggled with life challenges far removed from McDonnell's experiences.

On Monday, the candidate repudiated several of the things he wrote in 1989. That will provide comfort to Virginia's moderate middle, but voters will still be left to reconcile that rejection with McDonnell's record in the 20 years since.

Over that time, McDonnell has diversified his interests and taken on issues unrelated to his treatise. But a common philosophical thread remains, which raises unavoidable questions about whether the antipathy he once expressed toward working women, unwed mothers and gay people would color McDonnell's goals as the state's chief executive.

In his thesis, McDonnell criticized U.S. Supreme Court rulings in 1965 and 1972 that recognized the rights of married and unmarried couples to use contraceptives. In various sections, he decried the "new trend of working women and feminists that is ultimately detrimental to the family" causing "psychological, physical and moral harm" to children, and attributed the trend in part to "increased appetite for the materialistic components of the American Dream."

He asserted that "every government should statutorily and procedurally prefer married couples over cohabitators, homosexuals or fornicators. The cost of sin should fall on the sinner not the taxpayer." He urged Republican politicians to oppose "special rights for homosexuals or single-parent unwed mothers."

McDonnell was not a college undergraduate regurgitating the words of his professor in order to get a grade. He was a 34-year-old graduate student attending CBN University, now Regent, a year after founder Pat Robertson's failed run for the presidency. The campus was a hotbed of conservative Christian fervor, and McDonnell was an enthusiastic participant.

As a lawmaker, McDonnell pursued many of the 15 goals listed in his paper. Some proposals had broad support, including tougher pornography laws and abolition of the estate tax. Others were more divisive, including school vouchers, limits on no-fault divorce and restrictions on abortions. He voted against a 2001 resolution opposing wage discrimination.

McDonnell spent 80 minutes Monday fielding questions about his thesis and taking responsibility for his words.

"Any of the language in there that in any way denigrates the basic dignity or worth of any human being, I very much regret that," he said.

He did not pretend that his fundamental world view has changed, but he said some of his opinions have evolved. He said he now supports equal pay for men and women and has encouraged his two oldest daughters to pursue master's degrees to improve their job prospects. He said he opposes government discrimination based on sexual orientation, no longer wants to repeal no-fault divorce laws and would not attempt to ban contraceptives if he were governor.

Critics say some of those shifts are an accommodation to his political ambitions, but that too easily dismisses two decades' worth of influence by people with different perspectives.

McDonnell has spent much of his political career balancing roles as a bipartisan problem-solver and a culture warrior. In his campaign for governor, he has sought to keep the latter under wraps, even as his opponent, Creigh Deeds, has sought to focus on that history.

A campaign solely about divisive social issues will result in an election unlikely to solve Virginia's substantive problems. Even so, voters should understand what each man believes in order to judge his qualifications as a leader.

All of us mature and adapt to our changing world, and we should expect our leaders to do the same. The question is not whether Bob McDonnell is the same person he was 20 years ago, but whether he has changed enough that he truly wants to be the governor of all Virginians.