Let's face it, Virginia.  Your governor, Tim Kaine, is a little… well… sane.  I mean he's a really great guy.  He's done wonders for the state budget.  But why isn't he on MSNBC screaming at Chris Matthews?  Why isn't he on the Daily Show, bewildering the hell out of Jon Stewart?  Why isn't he riding a mechanical bull into the wee hours of the night?

Virginia, what you need is a healthy dose of Terry McAuliffe…

Former Democratic National Committee chairman Terry McAuliffe filed papers Monday necessary to run for governor in Virginia next year. McAuliffe established his campaign committee, Friends of Terry McAuliffe, with the State Board of Elections and will tour Virginia for the next 60 days before making his candidacy certain…

A native of upstate New York, McAuliffe, 51, has lived in Virginia for about 17 years. He lives in the Washington, D.C., suburb of McLean.

Interesting fact about McAuliffe:  He's not very good at winning elections.  The Democrats lost seats in Congress throughout his term as DNC Chair.  He couldn't get John Kerry into the Oval Office.  And his candidate for president lost her primary, although it's possible they haven't told that to Terry yet.

But you'd better believe he'll stir things up in Virginia.  Whether downing shots with Joe Scarborough or hosting visits from Pope Hillary Clinton, a Governor McAuliffe will make Tim Kaine seem as boring as his successor, Mark Warner.

Well, actually that's a bit harsh.  How about only as boring as a monotone recitation of The Iliad in the original Ancient Greek with pauses for the earth's crust to harden?

I can't say why exactly, but McCain campaign manager Rick Davis' super-realistic optimism about the state of the race going into the home stretch do not in any way remind me of Clinton campaign manager Terry McAuliffe's similar optimism in the waning days of the Democratic primaries…

Nor does it at all remind me of the alternative secret mathematics that Karl Rove's used to predict the huge Republican congressional wins in 2006.

I guess some people are just smarter than the rest of us.

So, now that Bill and Hillary Clinton are off the campaign trail, does that mean that everything is safe for all the superdelegates who didn't opt for cowardice and actually endorsed somebody.

And, by somebody, I mean somebody who's not named Clinton…

[Clinton Aide Doug] Band keeps close track of the past allies and beneficiaries of the Clintons who supported Obama's campaign, three Clinton associates and campaign officials said.

Indeed, he is widely known as a member of the Clinton inner circle whose memory is particularly acute on the matter of who has been there for the couple — and who has not.

Oh, I don't like the sound of that at all. This sounds fishy. Why exactly is it that Band is keeping track of these people?

"The Clintons get hundreds of requests for favors every week," said Terry McAuliffe, the chairman of Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign. "Clearly, the people you're going to do stuff for in the future are the people who have been there for you."

McAuliffe, who knows of Band's diligent scorekeeping, emphasized that "revenge is not what the Clintons are about." The accounting is more about being practical, he said, adding, "You have to keep track of this."

Oh, well, that makes perfect sense. For favors. Band is keeping track for favors.

And, uh, ya never know when you're gonna need to, eh… not turn up at the bottom of a river.

Ya know what I mean?

The indefatigable Terry McAuliffe, Clinton campaign manager 4 Life, beyatches, inspired Jon last night with his raw Hillary-fueled zealotry.

Secretary of State McAuliffe? Don't stop believin', Terry.

On that note, where would you rather see Jon on a fantasy Hillary Clinton cabinet?

Terry McAuliffe, the Clinton campaign's resident Parrothead, will be on The Daily Show tonight.

Something tells me he might drunkenly announce something. What do you hope he announces?

UPDATE: Here's McAuliffe's appearance from last night below the fold:

Read more »

Earlier today, we reported that AP was reporting that Clinton campaign officials were reporting that Hillary Clinton was getting ready to bring her campaign to an end.

Well, now that looks like that's not true. Kind of not true…

Terry McAuliffe, Clinton's campaign chairman, told CNN that AP is "100% reporting incorrectly."

"I don't know who the officials are, but anyone can be an official in this world. I can unequivocally say as chairman of this campaign that until someone has the numbers this nomination fight continues on," he said. "The race goes on," he added.

So, I guess the nomination fight will go on until tomorrow afternoon or something?