The Proof of Political Wisdom Is in the Results of the Election

The race between Sens. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and John McCain (R-Ariz) not only drew record numbers of Virginians to the polls, but it also got people excited and got them to volunteer their time to talk with neighbors. Former Democratic National Committee chairman Terry McAuliffe built a campaign around the idea that Obama had made politics cool again and that people new to the process would want to be involved again, if they were asked.

But gubernatorial primaries are entirely different animals. For starters, they are held in June, when people aren't used to thinking about elections. In interviews, many voters have said they did their part last year and were not pleased to find it was campaign season again already. By early this week, the conventional wisdom had settled on the idea that turnout would be low, probably less than 10 percent of registered voters. The outcome of the election will depend on just how low.