WP,pg1: Democrats in Upper South run to win on bios, personal style...

[DeepModem Mom]

and wary positioning on social issues.

RED-STATE REVIVAL: CAN DEMOCRATS COMPETE IN THE UPPER SOUTH?
A Balancing Act in the Upper South
Hopeful Democrats Tread Warily on Social Issues
By Shailagh Murray
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, October 9, 2006; Page A01

....Across the upper South, from the Ozark hills to the Virginia Beach suburbs, Democratic candidates in House and Senate races are betting that they can overcome the unpopularity of their party affiliation by shrewdly combining biography, personal style and artful positioning on divisive social issues.

The theory is that Democratic positions on such issues as the economy and education are well-suited to many tradition-minded Southern voters -- if these voters can be reassured on cultural values....

***

Missouri is an ideal laboratory to see if the experiment can work. For decades, the Democratic formula for winning the Show-Me State was simple: Win big in the urban hubs of St. Louis and Kansas City. But that approach only works by not losing big in the rest of the state.

"If I want to represent all of the state, I darn better get to speak to everybody in the state," (Missouri Democratic Senatorial candidate Claire) McCaskill, 53, told a crowd (in Springfield) last month.

That sentiment is being expressed in four other upper South states: Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia and North Carolina. In all these places, Democrats are testing different mixes of candidates, messages and outreach methods. Candidates do not talk about abortion unless they oppose it -- and many ardently do. They phone into Christian talk radio shows to challenge their critics. Their campaign Web sites show them in hunting garb and list what church service they attend....

***

McCaskill and other Democrats are part of the most sustained effort by the party in 12 years to reverse the rout of 1994....

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/08/AR2006100800939.html

[Erika]

1. Faux News today asked if a Black man could win Tennessee

In my naivety, I was shocked. I had watched the debate and made observations.

Why would Faux News bring up race rather than qualifications?

[bobbieinok]

2. d'ja think a black man could be chair of joint chiefs or sec of state????

[Erika]

3. Again, I was shocked when they asked if a Black man could win Tennessee

Totally.