The bulletproof candidacy of Nathan Deal
Atlanta Journal Constitution
by Jim Galloway
October 2, 2010One of the Legislature’s more popular Republican members stopped outside the state Capitol on Thursday to pose a loaded question. “When will the media stop beating up on Nathan Deal?” he asked, adding, “Not that it matters.” The lawmaker smiled slightly. He knew he had just summed up the current state of Georgia’s race for governor. Deal and his Republican campaign are proof that in politics, as elsewhere in life, it’s often better to be lucky than talented. And to be on the right side of a wave is the best luck of all.
As a campaigner, Deal has had more than his share of wrong turns and awkward moments of fudgery, before and after clinching the GOP nomination in this summer’s cage match with former Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel. But as a candidate, Deal has been darn near bulletproof. The former North Georgia judge and prosecutor and public servant — this is how Deal prefers to describe himself — has seen three weeks of campaign hell…
And yet Deal has stayed afloat. The Republican’s poll standings are virtually unchanged. Barnes has gained no significant ground. The Republican nominee has helped himself by shifting his talking points to jobs and the economy, and by maintaining an unruffled demeanor. No, voters don’t think as well of Deal as they did several months ago. His “unfavorable” ratings have ballooned. But that doesn’t seem to matter…
A deep, deep dark secret will have to be revealed about the Republican nominee. For instance, there is a rumor circulating that Deal was once a congressman in Washington. And before that, a member of the state Legislature. If this were true, and became well-known, Deal might be considered by some to be an apple cart worth upsetting. Deal’s TV ads do not address these libels. One biographical sketch — aimed at South Georgia — skipped lightly over the past two decades of his life. Barnes has spread the innuendo everywhere he can. But, again, the former governor is a Democrat. Deal’s friends would never believe it.
An unqualified, corrupt, nearly bankrupt, man who voted 93% with the worst Administration in our history and escaped a Congressional Ethics investigation by resigning Congress early is going to be the next Governor of Georgia. That ought to be funny. What’s worse, anybody that can read knows about his financial situation. It’s been in every newspaper in the State and all over television. What does it mean that he’s ahead? Not too much more than "them damn lib’rul democrats!" with some Rush Limbaugh and Fox News thrown in for seasoning. I doubt that it has to do with the economy, or the platforms of the candidates, or anything else of substance. Pretty sad stuff…
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.