At the end of the day, people thought keeping things going on the same track was more important than electing a Republican. In that way, the natural tilt of the state (favoring Republicans) was overcome. |
George Allen doesn't want to lose this election, either. |
Governors obviously have limited influence other than over their own state [gas] taxes. |
I actually think in retrospect our decision-making turned out very well, |
It's really their last attempt to try to give a frame to this choice that the public can grasp. It's one of the things that's been difficult for each of them in this campaign, to really frame the choice that the public's going to make in a compelling way, ... This debate gives each side the opportunity to really try to frame for the public what the election's about, and to give the public a better sense of what they're about. |
Potts' major strength is that if he had money, he's a distinctive personality. He comes across, by contrast to the other two, in a unique way. He has a persona that's some cross between Harry Truman and Ross Perot. That's appealing to a lot of people today who feel that candidates are too careful, too scripted, too stage-managed. |
This is an opportunity for these individuals to present themselves and give themselves a distinctive identity with the public, something I don't think either of them has accomplished yet. Right now I think the campaign is that each candidate still has that hurdle and whoever can kind of get over that hurdle could well turn the election in their direction. |