RICHMOND - The musty odor of sneakers in an elementary school gymnasium poll site. A whiff of cologne from a sharply dressed advisor at Texas Gov. and Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush's victory party. The pungent aroma of stamp adhesive at Bush's campaign headquarters. The smell of victory. These were the scents that perfumed Richmond today as Bush swept the Virginia primary. But despite what his campaigners may say about his shrewd politicking, it wasn't what Bush did right today that won him the Commonwealth. It was what Arizona Sen. John McCain did wrong.
It's no surprise that Bush won Virginia's vote for Republican presidential nominee, but it's especially unremarkable in Richmond. In a town where every third person is clad in a "Confederacy is for Lovers" tee shirt, voters obviously were looking for the most conservative candidate in the Republican camp. In addition, Bush's frequent visits to the Commonwealth in the past year have won him the unanimous support of all Virginia officials, from Gov. James S. Gilmore III (R) to Senate hopeful and former governor George Allen.
"As Governor, Bush's stances on parole abolition, welfare cuts and education through technology were all similar to what we have on our own Virginia agenda," said a well-rehearsed Attorney General Mark L. Early during the rowdy Bush victory party. "He's done for Texas just what we want to do for Virginia."
Despite the halo that state politicians decided to place over Bush's cherubic head, what really sealed Bush's win today were all the strikes against John McCain. "I think McCain really hurt himself by criticizing John Warner and Jerry Falwell," said Ray Allen, senior advisor for the Bush campaign, during Bush's victory party. Allen was referring to McCain's speech in Virginia Beach on Monday in which McCain blasted the conservative leadership of the GOP, targeting religious conservative Falwell and Warner, Virginia's senior senator. "You don't go to a state and pick on their leaders, especially when they're from your own party." This fumble was mentioned all day as the thorn McCain had dug hardest into the Commonwealth's side.
Following the roads to the polls, the "Bush for President" signs were far more numerous than the McCain signs. At the polls, voters were politely asked to fill out a pledge before entering the faded curtained booths. "I, the undersigned, state that I do not intend to participate in the nomination process of any other party other than the Republican Party." This pledge is not required in most states, but in Virginia voters happily scrawled away their partisanship, unaware of all the consequences it entailed.
"I voted for McCain, but I'm actually a Democrat," elderly voter Karen Shank conspiratorially said after mischievously running out of the polling precinct like a toddler who had just scribbled on the walls. "I figured if McCain won, the Democrats would have an easier time beating him than Bush." What Ms. Shank did not realize though, since she had just "skimmed" the pledge, was that now she had eliminated herself from the Democratic nominating process. In addition, McCain's feeble attempt to gain liberal support - in the form of campaign flyers urging Democrats and Independents to vote in the primary - only alienated him from his fellow Republicans.
"McCain's approach has been very divisive, and that isn't what this party is about," said Marvin Bush, Bush's younger brother, at the Bush victory party. "We're trying to unite this country, not tear it apart," Bush continued formulaically. Buzzwords such as "divisive" "inflammatory," and "unfocused" were kicked around among Bush's campaigners all day to describe McCain.
"McCain is a four-letter word around here," joked Randolph-Macon College senior Cassie Hite, between calls at Bush's campaign headquarters. The office was a cluttered maze of colorful campaign paraphernalia and phones, where housewives, students and advisors sat eagerly calling voters.
In Richmond, Bush's campaign was far more mobilized than McCain's, and the only McCain campaigner seen all day was a lonesome volunteer standing glumly in front of a poll with a "McCain" sticker plastered across his shirt. "We're more 'grassroots' for McCain around here," stoic volunteer Tracy Kreg carefully said.
Sadly, after his blundering speech and his haphazard approach to the Virginia primary overall, there weren't enough "grassroots" to save John McCain as he went up in flames in the Commonwealth. The Bush campaign can claim another win for compassionate conservatism.
(Diya Gullapalli is a Cavalier Daily associate editor.)
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