Morton then depicted Kaine’s victory as “a big boost for outgoing governor Mark Warner, a 2008 presidential possibility. And it was a rejection of the president who came to Richmond on election eve to campaign for Republican loser, Jerry Kilgore.”
Finally, Morton suggested that as a result of these elections, President Bush now has less clout with Republicans in Congress, as well as with Republican governors.
What follows is a full transcript of this report, and a video link.
Bruce Morton: Was Election Day bad news for the president? Oh yes. About lot like the title of that children’s book, “Alexander, George, and (in this case) the Terrible, Horrible, Very Bad Bay.” About like that.
Mark Warner: Please join me in saying hello to governor elect, Tim Kaine.
Democrat Tim Kaine’s win in Virginia showed that a moderate Democrat can win in a very red state, a state that hasn’t voted for a Democratic president since Lyndon Johnson 41 years ago, and maybe showed that voters are sick of negative ads.
Kaine: We’ve done it. We’ve done it.
Morton: It was also a big boost for outgoing governor Mark Warner, a 2008 presidential possibility. And it was a rejection of the president who came to Richmond on election eve to campaign for Republican loser, Jerry Kilgore. Voters took Warner’s advice about who should succeed him, and not the president’s. You have to wonder, should Kilgore have asked the president to wait a week.
Democrat Jon Corzine’s win over Republican Douglas Forrester was easier for Republicans to explain. New Jersey is usually Democratic, and in a battle of multi-millionaires, Corzine did outspend his opponent. But, the president and his party would be a lot happier if they had won one out of two. Where does this leave Mr. Bush? With an electorate that doesn’t like his social security plan, doesn’t like his war in Iraq, and increasingly doesn’t seem to like what he says and stands for. What does this mean? Less clout with Republicans in Congress. They have to run again, he can’t. Less clout with Republican governors…same reason. Is there good news for the president and the Republican party? Yes. The good news is the Congressional elections aren’t for a year, and the presidential elections for three years. And, in politics, two weeks came seem like forever. Much can change if the president decides he wants to change.
