MONEY is a very touchy subject in modern life, from cocktail parties to politics. Americans probably seem obsessed with money to the rest of the world. But is has always been a rule of etiquette that people have the right and duty to keep private their personal income.
Unfortunately, that rule is disappearing from politics, particularly in Virginia. Members of the Republican party and the press are obsessed with Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mark Warner's personal fortune and how much of it he has spent on his campaign. This unhealthy obsession obscures much more important concerns about the race.
The news media and politicians have hit voters over the head with the sizeable figures of Warner's fortune. The Washington Post has made a practice of preceding Warner's name with the word "millionaire" all too frequently. On the other hand, Mark Earley is referred to by his professional title, attorney general. It would be more appropriate, then, to also describe Warner by relevant descriptions, such as "businessman."
Republicans have made too much of this issue. Most successful politicians in both parties have much more money than the average American. The fact that Earley is an exception doesn't say anything positive or negative about him. Journalist R.H. Melton points out that Republicans "talk a lot about the creation of wealth and the need for government to butt out," ("GOP Campaign Against Warner Keeps Coming Back to His Money," The Washington Post, Aug. 23), but find Warner's wealth distasteful, even though they have no reason to believe that he got it dishonestly.
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The only reason this fortune would matter is if he tried to "buy" the election. While it is true that Warner spent $10 million of his own money on his failed 1996 Senate campaign, in this election he had put in only $752,391 as of June 30 (www.vpap.org). This figure is much less reported than the size of his personal fortune, probably because it suggests Warner has learned a lesson in five years.
Indeed, all this wallet envy has covered up the important fact that this time around, Warner has raised over 90 percent of his campaign money - convincing 12,000 people to give him $8 million. Almost half of that comes from the populous Northern Virginia region, one of the areas where Earley is farthest behind in the polls.
The fact that Warner is wealthy, even by political standards, should have little effect on his chances either way. National politics has seen big spenders win, in the case of Sen. Jon Corzine (D-NJ), and lose big, in the case of former Republican presidential candidate Steve Forbes.
Earley, on the other hand, has a lot to lose with the populist approach. Northern Virginia is his biggest battleground, and one where he must get a message across or lose the election. It is also the wealthiest area of the state, filled with successful tech workers likely to be offended by this tone. And of course, people don't vote for candidates who offend them.
Earley should instead concern himself with the wide regional discrepancy in voter contributions and preferences. Northern Virginia is Warner's strongest area, and central Virginia has provided Earley with a substantial portion of his money. The winner of this race will be the man who can attract more voters in his areas of weakness by developing issues that appeal to everyone.
Northern Virginian voters' behavior is difficult to predict these days. It was once a dependable area for former Sen. Charles Robb (D), but republican George Allen won a commanding 47 percent in last year's senate race, and now the area is swinging Democratic again.
In the absence of strong identification with one party or the other, the area votes pragmatically. Yet a candidate can't win with only Northern Virginia. He needs to avoid backlash from other regions.
Earley has developed several campaign proposals for transportation, an aggravating problem to Northern Virginia, but which is becoming an issue for the rest of the state as well. Earley's proposal promotes both expanding Metro lines into heavily populated areas of Northern Virginia, such as Tyson's Corner and Dulles Airport, as well as developing a high speed passenger rail to serve central and southern Virginia. These could provoke strong interest if they received the same publicity as the size of Mark Warner's pocketbook.
Virginia politics has become fixated on Warner's fortune and how much money he funds his campaign. Factors such as how much he has raised in total and the regional differences in support this reflects are more worthy of consideration as both campaigns head into the post-Labor Day stretch.
(Elizabeth Managan's column appears Wednesdays in The Cavalier Daily. She can be reached at emanagan @cavalierdaily.com.)
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