After weeks of ignoring us, the candidates come a-courtin'

VIRGINIANS WOKE up Wednesday to find that the presidential primary candidates – of both parties – had turned their wandering eyes our way.

They want us!

Yet, like a plain, faithful wife whose husband bursts through the door one day bearing flowers and chocolates, you can’t blame us for being wary.

Face it, these candidates have been flirtatious . They’ve ignored us and showered others with affection.

For months, they acted as if Iowans, New Hampshirites and Nevadans were far more fascinating than we are. They frolicked with New Yorkers, Floridians and South Carolinians while we sat on the sidelines. They canoodled in

Illinois, Delaware and New Jersey and gave us the cold shoulder.

It hurt.

Then suddenly – overnight, in fact – they now think we’re kind of cute. About time .

If you must know, Virginia is an engaging state. We’re home to about 7.6 million extraordinary people, including the University of Virginia’s political whiz Larry Sabato.

When I talked to him Wednesday, Sabato reminded me that this isn’t the first time Virginia’s primary voters were poised to make a difference.

There was 1988, for instance, when Virginia Democrats voted for Jesse Jackson. Some believe that the subsequent power struggles within the party contributed to Michael Dukakis’ defeat, he said. The Old Dominion was decisive again in 2000, when Virginia put the nail in John McCain’s primary coffin. South Carolina is credited with delivering a stunning blow to McCain’s campaign, but it was Virginia that ended his bid.

No wonder candidates are reluctant to campaign here.

This year, they will. On Tuesday, Virginians will head to the polls with the races on both sides undecided.

“As it turned out, that was smart,” Sabato said of the decision to set Virginia’s primary for a week after Super Tuesday. “We’re actually important.”

So, for a few dizzying days the national political spotlight will shine on Virginia.

The candidates will learn that people here care about politics, even if the

candidates don’t seem to care very much about them.

We vote. In fact, we vote for everyone. While Virginians tend to go Republican in presidential races, we also elect lots of Democrats. It’s been pointed out many times that the Old Dominion seems locked in a weird political pattern: When America sends a Republican to the White House, Virginia sends a Democrat to the governor’s mansion. And vice versa.

With voters like that, you’d think everyone would want to woo us. Now they do. The candidates, their spouses and their surrogates will try to seduce us this week. They’ll quote Jefferson, eat peanuts and tell us we’re the most bewitching voters in the nation. They may even promise to fix our roads, our ports, our teeth – anything to get us to smile on them.

Truth is, it’s nice that the candidates finally have noticed Virginia, the birthplace of many presidents. It’s hard not to be flattered by the attention.

We’ll put the flowers in a vase and nibble on the chocolates. But in our hearts, we know their ardor will be fleeting.

Come Valentine’s Day, the candidates will be long gone.

Kerry Dougherty, (757) 446-2306, kerry.dougherty@cox.net