Kilgore has to be held responsible, not his campaign manager. He couldn't bring his advisors on stage to debate Kaine. It was one on one with each candidate being asked to articulate their policies and be nimble enough to counter their opponent.
Jerry Kilgore performed much better as a candidate for Attorney General. As a candiate for Governor he got some really, really, really bad advice.
Different office, different criteria. If he followed that "really, really, really bad advice," then it is a more of a reflection on his judgment and political savvy than those who gave him the advice.
I'm not saying Kilgore wasn't to blame, he certainly was. What I ~am~ saying though is that he's a much better and brighter person and candidate than what we saw. And a lot of that was controlled by the "experts."
I've seen more than one candidate ruined by the "experts."
Kilgore ~is~ better than what we saw.