On Monday, Del. Albert Pollard described Sen. Creigh Deeds as the Democratic candidate for Governor who’s “most in the Warner/Kaine mold.” Today, The Washington Post concurs (emphasis added):

Democratic voters may wonder: How can Mr. Deeds beat presumptive Republican nominee Robert F. McDonnell, who beat Mr. Deeds in the attorney general’s race four years ago? The answer: Mr. Deeds lost by a scant 323 votes out of roughly 2 million cast despite being outspent 2 to 1. This is one of only two governor’s races slated for the fall, and whoever wins the primary will have plenty of cash. Virginia is still more purple than blue, and Mr. Deeds’s moderate platform would have the broadest appeal.

Our judgment, though, is based on who would make the best governor in the Warner-Kaine tradition, not who would be the strongest candidate. Like those Northern Virginia senators who have endorsed Mr. Deeds — including Janet D. Howell, Mary Margaret Whipple, J. Chapman “Chap” Petersen, Charles J. Colgan and Richard L. Saslaw — we believe that he understands Northern Virginia. We also believe that he has the character, experience and savvy to be a successful leader of the entire commonwealth