Why are Obama and Biden campaigning for Chris Coons?

Don’t the polls show that Chris Coons, the Democrat for Delaware’s Senate seat, leads the race over Republican Christine O’Donnell by anywhere from 11 points (Rasmussen) to 20 points (Monmouth)?  If these polls are accurate, then why are the Democrats’ #1 and #2 dogs going to bat for Coons?

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President Barack Obama’s efforts to stave off Democratic losses in the Nov. 2 congressional elections take him today to Delaware, where the party’s chances of holding a Senate seat have risen.

Obama will be joined by Vice President Joe Biden at a fundraiser for Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Chris Coons at the Grand Opera House in Wilmington, the state’s largest city.

A recent poll in the state gives Coons, 47, county executive of New Castle County, Delaware’s largest county, a 19- point lead over Republican Christine O’Donnell, 41, a marketing consultant.

White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer said Obama was making the campaign stop because the contest is “important” and the political climate this year is volatile.

“We leave no stone unturned in this unpredictable electoral environment,” Pfeiffer said.

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Coons is supposedly leading by double digits, after Columbus Day, and despite a decent showing by O’Donnell during their recent debate.  This race is all but over.  Isn’t it?

Color me suspicious, but this isn’t about leaving no stone unturned, as Pfeiffer puts it.  This is either about avoiding the embarrassment of losing the seat long held by Joe Biden, meaning that the regime thinks face-saving is more important than winning close races (Nevada, California, Pennsylvania); or the regime has some data that shows this isn’t a double-digit race at all.

OR IT’S BOTH.

O’Donnell has been running a pretty decent campaign.  Her “image” ads are good stuff.  She also has the support of nearly all conservative opinion movers and she has been a fundraising animal since the primary victory over Mike Castle. Perhaps the regime has caught whiff of an ill wind in Delaware, and are rushing in to shore up Coons in the hopes that November 2 isn’t a complete debacle for the White House.

Christine O’Donnell Ad: “I’m not a witch. I’m you.”

I don’t know if this ad is playing in Delaware TV markets, but it should be.  It looks like all the money flowing into her campaign following the September 15 primary upset is being well spent.

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This is a positive, issues-oriented ad intended to reach out and conversationally engage the viewer.  Focus groups consistently rate such ads as the most positive.  Incidentally, one of the reasons why Dingy Harry Reid is still in the Nevada Senate race is that he’s been running similarly conversational advertising.

Pay attention to what works, candidates.

Primary battles are never pretty

Primary battles—the political equivalent of internecine warfare—are rarely very pretty affairs because they tend to divide party advocates into camps that will have to unite once a candidate is eventually chosen.

Michelle Malkin weighs in on the Delaware Senate race, where long-time party insider Mike Castle faces Tea Party (and Palin endorsee) Christine O’Donnell, and has a bit of advice for the “family:”

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This isn’t “Main Street.” This is the road to progressive hell. We already have one too many shady Soros Republicans in the Senate — and John McCain doesn’t need any more company.

As I noted a few weeks ago, the stakes are raised — not just for Delaware, but for the nation — in this race because this is a special election for VP Joe Biden’s Senate seat. The next Senator from Delaware will serve the remaining four years of Biden’s term. Which means he or she will be seated immediately after election and will be in place to vote in any lame duck Senate session. Cap-and-tax is on the table for this session. From his record and from his radical enviro associations, we know what Castle would do in the name of “Republican Main Street” values to screw over not only Delawareans, but all taxpayers.

Nine terms are enough.

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Guess what? You can be a “TRUE CONSERVATIVE,” a blogger behind a keyboard, a talk show host behind a mic, a prime-time TV host in front of a camera, a Beltway pundit, or a heartland Tea Party activist and come to different, good-faith conclusions about this race. I know people in both the Castle camp and the O’Donnell camp. I’m not going to deride or disown my friends in the blogosphere or anywhere else because we disagree. That’s, well, unhinged.

Everyone get a grip. Take a deep breath. Fight your best fight. Make your best arguments. Wait for the votes to be counted. Then march on and move forward.

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The race has gotten pretty ugly, with both candidates slinging razor-sharp barbs, GOP’ers taking sides, the blogosphere animated and talkers weighing in.  It’s gotten so bad on Twitter that I’ve quarantined the “#DESEN” hashtag and both candidates’ last names to keep the signal-to-noise level respectable. 

Ms. Malkin’s advice to “get a grip” ought to be heeded.  It’s just a primary.  The future of the free world is not at stake. It’s just control of the Senate.