This endorsement of Bob McDonnell by the Free Lance-Star is all class. They decry the negative tactics of the Creigh Deeds campaign, (while simultaneously attacking Deeds with the same exact negative spin employed by McDonnell) and decide that….

Hearing nothing inspiring from either hopeful, the citizen must assay personal attributes. So:

Mr. McDonnell is articulate, certainly a virtue in leadership (recall George W. Bush’s chronic incoherence and its incurred cost in popular support). Mr. Deeds is not a confident speaker, giving the impression that he is confused by complexity or fears candor.

Says the paper that twice endorsed George W. Bush and declined to endorse Barack Obama, a man who’s constantly mocked for being an articulate speaker. Apparently, when you’re Bob McDonnell, those magically become leadership qualities!

I also like the fact that they don’t think Creigh Deeds would be able to work in a bi-partisan manner as Governor. EIGHT GOP members of the General Assembly who served with both men in Richmond have endorsed Deeds over their fellow Republican, Bob McDonnell (who the Free Lance-Star calls “a socially moderate lawmaker”). That includes former Finance Committee Chairman and State Senate President John Chichester of Fredericksburg.

Meanwhile, in the rest of Virginia….

Creigh Deeds is racking up endorsements, including…. The Virginian-Pilot! McDonnell served Virginia Beach for several years in the House of Delegates, and was endorsed by the Pilot over Deeds in the 2005 Attorney General race. Bob McDonnell refers to himself as Northern Virginia’s Own and Hampton Roads’ Own, in strategically placed signs around the commonwealth. Now both of those area’s most read papers (the Post and the Pilot) have endorsed Deeds over their “native son.”

The Pilot endorsement acknowledges that McDonnell is charismatic, BUT….

McDonnell may be a more persuasive leader, but he is asking Virginia to follow him down a dead-end road. If he is governor, he will spend four years churning out spreadsheets with fantasy forecasts and writing stern letters to the president, Congress, state legislators and city councils demanding that they do something to save him from his own inertia.

If Deeds is elected and breaks his promise to pass an adequately funded transportation plan, that failure will fall directly on his shoulders. He’s not asking that accountability be passed to future governors or postponed for more prosperous times. He’s willing to take on that responsibility here and now.

In return for that commitment, we give him our support.