Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Doug Wilder discusses African-American candidates on Fox & Friends

Fox & Friends appears to have a lock on former Virginia governors this morning.

First, Republican George Allen was on the couch with Brian Kilmeade and two others discussing the DNC's new campaign to catch GOP candidates in "gotcha" moments while campaigning.

Thirty minutes later Democrat Doug Wilder, the first African-American governor elected in the nation, was on by remote from Richmond.

Gretchen Carlsen, who used to cover the Governor while working as a reporter in Richmond, discussed with him the difficulty of African-American candidates who appear to be struggling at the polls this year. The question was why that would be an issue at a time when there is an African-American president in the White House.

Gov. Wilder stressed that too many people think all they have to do is run for public office and they will win which is not true. Candidates still need the qualifications, have to do the work, and cultivate supporters.

People, he said, put too much emphasis on color. When he ran for public office in Virginia, he told people to vote for him because of his credentials, not because of color.

Not only did Doug Wilder serve in the Virginia General Assembly in the 1970s but he went on to serve as Governor and then as Richmond's Mayor. His has been quite the political career, an example to all.

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