Jefferson Endorses Tingley?

It should have been big news when Republican state Senator Ken Cuccinelli endorsed two challengers to Northern Virginia Republican incumbents in the House of Delegates (Steve Chapman vs. Harry Parrish and Chris Oprison vs. Joe May), but no one seems to have noticed.

Now another big-name Virginia politician -- a former member of the House of Delegates -- has endorsed an underdog candidate, this time in the race for the Democratic nomination in the 57th District.

Yes, Thomas Jefferson (who once held the seat now filled by Delegate Rob Bell) has endorsed Kim Tingley. That is, a cartoon version of Mr. Jefferson does so in a TV commercial from Tingley's campaign. (Actually, I'm not sure if it's properly termed a "TV" commercial, since I haven't yet seen it on the airwaves. Perhaps it's on the low-rated CBS and ABC affiliates in Charlottesville, which are still struggling to attract more than 1,000 viewers to their evening newscasts. But it is available for viewing on Tingley's campaign web site.)

Waldo Jaquith has the best comments on this and other Tingley ads, including one where Tingley gingerly endorses gay rights without ever saying the words "gay" or "lesbian" or "homosexual" or "marriage" or "same-sex" or "same-sex marriage" ...