Obama Urges Virginians to Bring Out the Vote for Democratic Gubernatorial Candidate Deeds

ABC News’ Karen Travers reports: President Obama hit the trail for Virginia gubernatorial candidate Creigh Deeds this afternoon and urged people to get out and vote and ignore the polls and pundits. “I don’t believe in can’t. I don’t believe in giving up,” Obama said at a rally at Old Dominion University in Norfolk.  Deeds is trailing Republican candidate Bob McDonnell by double digits in recent polling and Obama tried to strike an upbeat tone while acknowledging that Deeds has an uphill battle. “We knew this was going to be tough,” Obama said. “But even though Virginia’s moving in the right direction, this is an evenly split state, pretty independent-minded folks.  And that’s good. That’s healthy.” Obama won Virginia in last year’s presidential election -the first time the state went Democratic since 1964. The state appeared to be trending blue over the last few election cycles. Democrat Jim Webb defeated incumbent Republican Senator George Allen in 2006. Democrat Tim Kaine was elected governor in 2005 with a centrist approach that followed the example of outgoing Gov. Mark Warner, also a Democrat Today he tried to cast Deeds in the same light as those popular Democratic governors. “You’ll have the chance to elect somebody who is cut from the very same cloth as Tim Kaine and Mark Warner; somebody who listens to folks, even when we don’t always agree; somebody who focuses not on short-term politics, but on a practical, long-term  vision.  And that man is Creigh Deeds,” the president said. Obama struck a casual, folksy tone in his remarks and brought out of retirement “Cousin Pookie,” a fictional reluctant voter who needs to be dragged out to the polls. Pookie often popped up in campaign speeches by candidate Obama last year, usually in the south. Perhaps in an effort to appeal to the common man, Obama noted that Deeds is “not perfect.” “His tie gets a little askew His hair’s a little frizzy,” the president said. “I hope you’ll vote based on how good a governor he’s going to be for the people of Virginia -Karen Travers