This Summer's Five Political Winners

Yesterday, Politico's Josh Kraushaar compiled a list of the casualties of what's been a particularly brutal August recess. Kraushaar is right—bodies are piling up on both sides of the aisle as the health-care debate becomes increasingly volatile. With even the White House looking seriously bruised, it's hard to think of any politician who has fared well over the last month. But there are a few winners amid the casualties. Here is our take on who they are:

Creigh Deeds: Reporters in the Beltway have had their eyes trained on the Virginia governor's race for months now, viewing it as a bellwether for the state of Obama's presidency. Until August, the message coming out of Virginia wasn't good for the administration. Deeds has been trailing Republican opponent Robert McDonnell in the polls for some time and the gap appeared to be widening. Deeds has been trying to make McDonnell's social conservatism an issue, with little success. Then on Sunday, much to the delight of the Deeds camp, The Washington Post dug up McDonnell's 1989 thesis, which he submitted for a master's degree at an evangelical school in Virginia Beach. In the thesis he wrote that government policy should give preference to married couples over "cohabitators, homosexuals and fornicators"; argued that feminists have been "detrimental" to the family; and worried over the rise in single and working mothers. Yesterday, the Deeds campaign organized a conference call with reporters where four GOP lawmakers—who'd already come out in support of Deeds—attested to McDonnell's deep-seated conservatism. Suddenly things are looking up for Creigh Deeds.

Anthony Weiner: Before August, the New York congressman was barely known outside of New York, and there his major claim to fame had been an aborted bid for the Democratic nomination for mayor of New York City. But over the past few weeks, Weiner has fast become the voice of the left on health-care reform. Barely a day has gone by without the feisty New Yorker debating the merits of a public option on cable news—and mostly he comes out looking like a winner. He's even become the poster child for a single-payer option, which, despite not being included in the House bill, still has significant support among liberal Democrats. Weiner, whose aggressive manner is no secret on Capitol Hill, is well suited to combative cable-news exchanges. Weiner supported Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primary last year (he's engaged to senior Clinton aide Huma Abedin), so he's also perfectly comfortable challenging the president. As the new go-to guy for liberal opinions, we're sure to be seeing more Weiner on our TV screens.

Barney Frank: This year has been a mixed blessing for Frank. As chairman of the powerful House Financial Services Committee, he's been overseeing some of the most important, and most criticized, legislation emerging from Congress, most notably the stimulus package. But this summer, the Massachusetts congressman became a YouTube sensation after verbally pummeling a voter who likened Obama to Hitler. He told that woman that her ability to make such outrageous claims constituted "a tribute to the First Amendment that this kind of vile, contemptible nonsense is so freely propagated." He followed up with perhaps his most tweeted statement ever, "Trying to have a conversation with you would be like trying to argue with a dining-room table. I have no interest in doing it." Frank has long been a darling of the left but, in an important year for Frank, this August exchange cemented his place as a liberal hero.

John McCain: After a long, exhausting campaign for president, McCain has had a relatively quiet year. This summer saw the return of McCain as statesman. In televised town-hall meetings, McCain reverted to form, recycling jokes and parrying with voters in that cantankerous but charming fashion that made so many GOP voters (and independents) embrace him in his two bids for the presidency. In a wide-ranging interview with George Stephanopoulos, he asserted himself on health care and energy, appearing more reasoned that many of his GOP colleagues. With the passing of his friend Ted Kennedy, the Arizonan had an opportunity to remind people of his own history of bipartisanship and compassion. Summer has been good to John McCain.

Christopher Christie: In the New Jersey governor's race, the former U.S. attorney has become this summer's Teflon man. Despite Governor Jon Corzine's best efforts, nothing bad seems to stick. This August saw revelations about a personal, off-the-books loan to a top aide, who still works in the U.S. attorney's office, on which Christie failed to pay taxes. Christie has also been accused of awarding no-bid contracts to friends and allies. But none of this has hurt his poll numbers: Christie is still leading Corzine by 6 to 10 points.