No Surprise In Post's Endorsement of Miller

Today's Washington Post endorsement of Harris Miller in the Virginia Democratic Senate primary hardly comes as a surprise.

Conceding that it's "an inopportune year for a candidate to have the word 'lobbyist' appended to one's name" the Post went ahead and endorsed former lobbyist Harris Miller as the "better-briefed, better-focused and more thoughtful" candidate.

Of course, the Post's editors are far more comfortable with the erudite, wonky Miller, a consummate Washington insider and Democratic Party activist, than they are with Webb.

Yet, what good is all that well-briefed, focused thoughtfulness if you're on the losing side of a race against Senator George Allen, who has none of those traits?

Miller has tried to pass himself off as "a shorter, poorer version" of popular former Virginia Governor Mark Warner. To paraphrase the late Lloyd Bentsen: "Harris Miller, you're no Mark Warner." Allen would have no trouble painting Miller as a carpetbagging liberal. If nominated, Miller will be lucky to get 45% of the vote against Allen.

If Democrats want to win in states like Virginia, they're going to have to broaden their appeal. Jim Webb offers a fine opportunity to do so.