Anatomy of Ken Cuccinelli’s losing campaign in Virginia -- By Joseph Curl, The Washington Times

The dirty black-glassed building smooshed up against the Beltway's Mixing Bowl interchange does not look like the campaign headquarters of a winner.

The underground garage is all but shuttered for renovation; the candidate's office is hard to find on the old-timey building sign (he's just above the office for adult orthodontics, just below Bob's Barber Shop); the elevator will give even the most fearless rider a jolt of claustrophobic fear as the doors close.

Inside is no better: The headquarters is tiny, but even still, all but empty. Sad pictures of state buildings dot the white walls; soiled and mismatched chairs fill a makeshift conference room; a half-empty box of Dunkin' Donuts sits on the floor. On the window, scrawled in black marker, is: "19 DAYS." There is no water, no coffee; a sign in the bathroom reminds users to unlock the door when they leave (which they have to do anyway to get out).

The sixth-floor office belongs to Ken Cuccinelli, Republican candidate for governor of Virginia. He is losing by more than 7 percentage points in an average of all recent polls; Politico puts him down by 9.

His opponent: The horribly flawed Terry McAuliffe, moneyman for the Clintons, native New Yorker, resident of posh McLean. And yet, Mr. Cuccinelli, former state senator and attorney general, graduate of the University of Virginia, lawyer, engineer, Catholic (father of seven), continues to fall further behind with each poll.

Last week, a handful of reporters and editors swung by the campaign headquarters for a chat. Mr. Cuccinelli entered to see most of the visitors in suits. "Sorry I didn't wear a tie," he said. But he was wearing a tie; he wasn't wearing a jacket. An odd opening.

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