WaPo Continues to Downplay Negative Developments for Va. Dem Governor Candidate Deeds

The Washington Post on Friday buried the announcement by Douglas Wilder, a popular Democratic ex-governor of Virginia, to not endorse his party’s current nominee for that office, Creigh Deeds. The Post placed the story, with the bland headline, "Wilder Declines to Endorse Anyone for Governor," below the fold in the Metro section.

In contrast, the Washington Times highlighted it on the front page, with the announcement: "Wilder to Deeds: That’s Not ‘Leadership.’" Over the last month, the Post has engaged in an aggressive campaign to play up a 20-year-old thesis by Republican candidate Bob McDonnell as supposedly anti-woman, producing story after story.

At the same time, the paper has repeatedly downplayed negative articles about Mr. Deeds. For instance, The Post minimized the endorsement of McDonnell by the powerful Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce, a prominent organization in vote-rich Northern Virginia. On Thursday, the Post hid that story on B4 of the Metro page.

As Mark Krikorian and Kathryn Jean Lopez of National Review Online pointed out, the Post story on Wilder’s non-endorsement contained this assertion: "But President Obama's repeated attempts to secure his support for Deeds gave Thursday's announcement national significance." [Emphasis added.] Staff writer Sandhya Somashekhar continued:

The decision is a blow not only to Deeds, who has struggled to attract support from some leaders in the black community, but potentially for Obama, who is facing the first electoral test of his presidency in the race between Deeds and Republican Robert F. McDonnell.

If this is a "blow" to Obama and Deeds, if it contains "national significance," why is it on B1 of the Metro section and not the front page? What’s there in its place? As the NRO's Krikorian mentioned, a piece on ankle bracelets that can detect sweat. Is it any wonder that the Post continues to lose money?