Kilgore Embraces Bush

Like many Republican candidates recently, Jerry Kilgore has been keeping Bush at arm’s length as the president’s approval ratings plummet. But desperate times call for desperate measures:

The White House is expected to announce this morning that President Bush will hold a last-minute, election-eve rally for Virginia gubernatorial candidate Jerry W. Kilgore in Richmond, sources in Virginia said.

Apparently the idea is to energize the hard core of Republicans who still worship Dubya, but it’s a risky strategy when, as of last month, Virginians aren’t fans of Bush’s performance: 56 percent disapprove, and only 41 percent approve, of the job he’s doing as president. I guess Kilgore is hoping that the 56 percent won’t be paying attention when he’s holding his rally with the Failure in Chief.

If Bush stands beside Kilgore on Monday and then the voters of Virginia reject him on Tuesday, that will be a remarkable slap in the president’s face from a red state. If you want to help that happen, there are plenty of opportunities between now and Tuesday to volunteer in Virginia.