Final debate already? Seems fairly early. I caught just a few moments of it last night on CSPAN. Kaine is pretty telegenic. But I liked Kilgore's comments on immigration and "what part of illegal doesn't he understand." Sounds like a winning issue.
Really important for the Republican to win or of course the media will be screaming about what a huge defeat this is for GWB and the national GOP. Though in 2001, when Mr Bush's popularity was very high, it didn't do much to help Republican candidates in VA or NJ then.
Kilgore only agreed to three debates. That was way back when he had a 10 pt. lead and was calling all the shots.
Commentary I heard this morning was that "Kilgore did what he needed to do." But I don't know.
Yes, this is crucial for the Republicans. We know we're not going to carry NJ. This has implications for 2006 when George Allen runs for re-election and for 2008 as well.
As for 2001, I argued on here that in the first 2-3 weeks following 9/11 that Bush could have come to Virginia to turn things around for Mark Earley. Both Bush and Cheney cancelled campaign appearances after the attacks.
But in retrospect, Earley had lost that race by August. He just didn't campaign with the same enthusiasm he'd shown when he ran for Attorney General.
Kilgore's campaign hasn't been perfect. But it's not because he's not trying and not working hard. Plus we're up against a lying media and current Admin.
I ~think~ Kilgore will put it off. But it will be close.