First Click -- Virginia

Aug. 12, 2009
Good morning. Here's what's happening in politics across the commonwealth today.

Republican Bob McDonnell will be in Newport News to roll out initiatives on public safety with GOP attorney general candidate Ken Cuccinelli. Watch for the Democratic trackers to be out in force for that one, since many Dems are convinced just standing next to the conservative Fairfax senator undermines McDonnell's efforts to run as a moderate. But McDonnell will use the same event to show he's focused on public policy, while Democrat Creigh Deeds is talking about...

...abortion. Which Deeds will apparently discuss during a 12:45 p.m. online appearance at the Richmond Times Dispatch. Both sides are saying this debate is all about priorities. Deeds says he wants to talk about it because it shows where McDonnell has been in all his years in public office. But Republicans are arguing the campaign push shows it is Deeds who is making the touchy issue part of the campaign.

The RTD interview is apparently taking the place of a larger public event in Richmond Deeds' had planned. His camp says the switch was required by logistics and they are not backing off the message. They'll be back with a Women for Deeds event in Norfolk Thursday.

Deeds advisers are also insisting they were not pushing the story of a confederate flag appearing at a McDonnell booth at a sportsman's show. The problem with the story: McDonnell folks say the flag was not theirs and show management backs them up. But that came out after campaign manager Joe Abbey had already forwarded the flag story on Twitter. It was a personal tweet, Mo Elleithee says, though Abbey's tweets are almost all campaign related.

Not a lot of support for the "personal retweet" defense from the blogosphere. Bob Holsworth says it's a "teachable moment" and time for Deeds to tell people in the "clearest possible terms what kind of person he is." More on the politics of the flag to come...

Nationally, debate continues on health care reform, as members of Congress hold sometimes rowdy town halls on the issue. But Rep. Tom Perriello's latest in Charlottesville was civil.