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McCain makes Virginia a rare stop on campaign trail

Posted to: Elections News

Big difference
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has visited Virginia six times and Joe Biden, his running mate, has made four trips. Republican presidential candidate John McCain and his running mate, Sarah Palin, will campaign in Virginia Beach on Monday. It will be their second appearance in the state.

RICHMOND

By the time John McCain and Sarah Palin campaign in Virginia Beach on Monday - their second appearance in the state this election season - Barack Obama and Joe Biden, their Democratic rivals in the presidential race, collectively will have been to Virginia nearly a dozen times.

That disparity provides a window into the two campaigns in this battleground state.

Though neither side will talk about staff sizes and budgets in Virginia, objective measures suggest that Obama's war chest has given him more freedom to lavish resources on the state.

"Obama can afford to make Virginia competitive," said Quentin Kidd, a political

science professor at Christopher Newport University in Newport News.

McCain is limited by the restrictions of public campaign financing he accepted - money and rules Obama eschewed after initially saying he would abide by them. That has enabled Obama to run a more ambitious campaign here than McCain, whose state motto seems to be "less is more."

And it may explain why Obama has visited more often, has more than twice as many local campaign offices, has sent high-profile surrogates and is running about double the local television commercials across the state.

Still, money spent does not assure election results.

"In a state with almost 5 million voters, you're not going to win a presidential contest simply by having more staffers or store front offices," said University of Virginia political science professor Larry Sabato. It is that reality - coupled with the notion that Virginia's political landscape remains favorable to the GOP - that comforts Republicans worried about polls showing a tight race in the state.

"Barack Obama still has to do well in a traditional red state," said Jerry Kilgore, a former Virginia attorney general who is a state co-chairman for McCain's campaign.

"We know Barack Obama has put a lot of time and money in Virginia, and we know it's going to be close," he continued. "But we feel confident in the end that McCain and Palin are going to win because they share Virginia values."

Partisan cheerleading notwithstanding, historic voting patterns favor the GOP here, despite recent Democratic success in statewide votes.

That's why McCain has relied on Kilgore, former Gov. George Allen, Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling, Attorney General Bob McDonnell and other Virginia Republicans to sell his message. They are known quantities, people who "talk directly to the voters in Virginia," said McCain spokeswoman Gail Gitcho. "They have a relationship with them. They understand them. They understand their values."

McCain strategists believe that personal touch makes up for whatever their Virginia operation lacks in scope.

In many ways, the people each campaign dispatches are an indication of the voters they want to woo, Old Dominion University communication professor Burton St. John observed.

So when the rapper Nas appears at an Obama voter registration drive, as he did recently at Hampton University, it is an appeal to young voters.

The goal for any surrogate is "to maximize a sense of relationship based on who are the most likely voters," St. John said.

Older people, who are more consistent voters, trend Republican, though Obama is banking on newly registered folks, including young and minority voters, to change the calculus in his favor.

Despite the appeal of any given personality, famous or not, there is no substitute for the candidates themselves.

On that measure, Obama is ahead of McCain in Virginia.

Clark Stevens, an Obama spokesman, said the campaign has made conscious decisions since securing the nomination to focus on the state, starting with a visit by the candidate to Bristol days after the primary season ended in June.

Including that stop, Obama has visited Virginia six times, Biden has made four trips, and each man's spouse has appeared twice. McCain and Palin held a rally in Fairfax last month that drew thousands, in their sole previous visit to the state.

That's "a very lopsided courtship so far in favor of the Democrats," said Sabato. "McCain needs to show more interest in the state."

Julian Walker, (804) 697-1564, julian.walker@pilotonline.com



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C-Span, only in America

I get my info from the Senate floor on C-Span, unique in the world. We still got a long way to go in transparency, but the US is far ahead of other nations. The EU debates are available in English and French only because these bureaucrats refuse to translate them for all EU citizens to keep them fighting while advancing their own agenda, such as beating the US as an economic superpower. The US is unique in that we the people get to vote for a candidate rather than having the winning party select the party's leader. Senator Obama's candidacy is possible only in the US, so was having General Colin Powell at the top of the chain of command.

Senator Obama’s grandfather was a WWII vet while his mother was born at the military base in Ft. Leavenworth. It explains his voting record on Veterans' issues and his close associations with Veterans in the Senate such as Hagel and Lugar, real Republicans.

Do you ever wonder ....

where the republicans on these boards get their information?

Here's one of their "research" sources:

The man behind the whispers about Obama

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27157703/

NOT A SINGLE INTERVIEW

My clock has reached about 45 days since being nominated and not one press conference. No questions about abusing power as governor, nothing about her relationship to the anti-American Alaskan Independence Party. All we know about her is that she thinks she has experience in foreign policy because Putin enters the air space in Alaska. I'm afraid she knows just as much about the Global Economy.

Governor Palin is the most unknown and unqualified VP candidate in American history. Her prepared statements and stump speeches are not going to change my mind. Is she looking for a job as cheerleader or an actual candidate for VP, possibly our next President? Senator McCain must really think I'm stupid.

America for All

Obama/Biden/Nye/Warner 2008

Fiscally responsible republicans?

From AP:

NEW YORK - A watched clock never moves — unless it's the National Debt Clock.

In fact, the digital counter has been moving so much that it recently ran out of digits to display the ballooning figure: $10,150,603,734,720, or roughly $10.2 trillion, as of Saturday afternoon.

A republican president for eight years, with a republican congress for six of the last eight years and this is what fiscal responsibility looks like.

Worse, they don't even have the decency to take responsibility for it.

MORE ASSOCIATIONS

I remember Warren Buffett, another association and supporter of Obama, who may become the next Treasury Chief. I remember Obama's associations with more than 200 economists who agreed with him that McCain's gas tax holiday is a bad idea.

I remember McCain's economic advisor who told me that I'm a whiner, it's all in my head. We could talk about Reverend Hagee and other McCain associations. I rather hear when Senator McCain will finally end his associations with the lobbyists that are running his campaign given the role they played in the mess this country and foreign countries are currently in.

atack, attack, attack!

I want to hear McCain/palin talk about the issues instead of the constant attack.

Guilt by association?

Now that Ron Paul is a forgotten punchline, the American Nazi Party has thrown its support behind McCain. So has the KKK.

What are we supposed to make of that?

associations

I remember who worked and supports Obama, his associations with Hagel, Lugar, Coburn, Powell and other high profile Republicans. Lugar took Obama to the unsecured WMD in the former Soviet Union and sponsored Lugar-Obama Nonproliferation Legislation that was passed in early 2007. To this day I've not heard a word from Senator McCain how he is going to prevent WMD from falling in the hands of terrorists. The McCain camp does not increase it's credibility with their personal attacks, especially since none of the above associations are campaigning for McCain.

It's sad to see these desparate efforts of Governor Palin and Senator McCain while lots of Americans just lost their life time savings.

gary

Save your childish comparisons to Hitler and your tired end of the world scenarios. Your drums of doom may have been sucessful at firing up the rabble (love the cries of "kill him." That's what great about America), but the blow back for the lies and the scarey stories is that a great many formerly undecided citizens aren't going to be voting for McCain or Palin. People have just gotten tired of the politics of fear, like they get tired of television sitcoms that go on for too long.

But, Gary, if you want some end of the world stories, you can fantasize about McCain's gaffe about an endless multi-generational war or Palin's seemingly whole-hearted rush toward the rapture. There are some frighteners to tell around the campfire

The Country Will Get The Short End Of This Stick!

Just remember who supports Obama besides the Ultra Liberals ! Louis Farakan, Father Fleager, Bill Ayers,Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, Hamas and members of the PLO, his radical relatives both in the US and Kenya.
Some of the above just hate the US others just anti white or anti Jewish, but anyway you look at it this man will not bring this country together but will devide it. In 1933 Germanys economy was in ruin, along came a guy with no real experience just a radical who told the crowds exactly what they wanted to hear and made them feel good he had the country in the palm of his hand, promised them the moon and look what the world had to indure. History has a way of repeating itself folks!! You are who you associate with! Lest we forget! This man is a cameleon you really don't know who you are going to get Attila the Hun or the Messiah.

I CAN'T WAIT FOR A NEW REPUBLICAN PARTY

and return to the real party of Lincoln with true Republican and capable leaders like Lugar, Coburn and others. Even John Warner is not supporting Gilmore, another campaign that took the Bush stronghold in 2000 and 2004 for granted. My boss is a die-hard Republican who came to the conclusion yesterday that Palin/McCain will lead this country into self-destruction. He too has decided to put country first instead of the party and vote for the Democratic ticket without ever becoming a Democrat. McCain is losing support in his own party every day. His lobbyists that are running his campaign have been self-destructing the party since the day they talked McCain into picking Governor Palin.

Tim

I didn't tell you the Joe Kennedy story to tell you which way to believe about the controversy--just to say it was significant enough that even biographers who adore JFK mention it as part of his story. You get to form your own conclusions, of course.
The Obama fundraising has been incredible--and I do believe they will debug the on-line anonymous contributions thing, probably even before the election. He is brilliant to have raised so much money from small donors and may well be a brilliant president financially--I hope so. I don't think you can call an election where someone is outspent "tainted" because it is just something that happens. A fact of life.
Finally, Tim, I didn't have room to say this before. When I said I ignore trolls, I didn't mean you. Once before I questioned why you were calling me out so forcefully, but you're no troll. Sorry I didn't say that more clearly. I do hate to fight

I can't wait...

to see the video of the lunatic wingnuts at McShame's VA BCH rally (John Birch Society meeting?)ranting and whining about how they are going to lose BIG. Hopefully a stake is driven once and for all through the heart of neocon "movement" conservatism which has ruined this country's standing in the world for the last 28 years. Republican deregulators have managed to wreck not only the US economy but the entire world financial system with their unbridled greed and arrogance. I am so enjoying witnessing the Republican party self-destruct. Unfortunately, they took our economy with them.

Obama/Biden/Nye/Warner 2008 - Virginia has turned blue! Deal with it!! Bye-bye Thelma.....

Better joke

A man enters a gift shop. He sees a lifelike brass rat with a price tag of $1,025. He tells the shop owner, "I like this rat, but it seems expensive." The owner says, "The rat is just $25. I'm charging an extra $1,000 for the story behind the rat."

Excited, the man says, "I don't care about the story, just give me the rat." The owner shrugs and sells the rat for $25.

A few moments after the man leaves the store he hears a nipping sound and turns to see a couple of rats. A couple of blocks later, he turns to see several dozen rats swarming behind him.

He starts to run and the number of rats multiplies. He reaches the water and hurls the brass rat into the bay. Hundreds of rats jump into the bay and drown.

When the man gets back to the shop, the owner says, “I guess you’re ready to pay the thousand dollars to hear that story now?"

But the man says:

"To hell with the story, I want to know if you have any brass republicans."

"RIGHT" Stuff?

When John McCain visits VA next week, I won't be attending. But, I would like for someone that does attend and is given the opportunity to ask a question, to ask just ONE question for me.

Just WHO is this Sarah Palin?

Is McSame coming for a rally or a funeral?

Democrat Barack Obama on Friday soared 11 points ahead of Republican rival John McCain taking a double digit lead for the first time in a Newsweek poll amid deep concerns about the economy.

Obama now leads McCain nationally by 52 percent to 41 percent among registered voters compared to a Newsweek survey carried out a month ago, before the economic crisis began to bite, and which had the two candidates tied at 46 percent.

Mary

I still believe you are trying to imply that Obama will win this election dirty when you bring up the Joe Kennedy story, which is a pretty well disputed story. I think he was smart to go the way he did once he the war chest of the RNC and the cast of characters who he would be opposing. Finally, I must reiterate my point from my last post, which was that it is extremely bad form to accuse someone of trolling because of a disagreement you might have with them. I believe that all of my correspondence with you has been both respectful and fact based. When I happen to disagree with something that is in a post, I will respond. Please note that I often do not respond to some of the silliest, ill informed posts; I mean, why would I waste my time? And finally, let me assure you; whoever wins this election, I truly hope they end up being a great president...we really need one now.

Mary

the only reason that McCain is "honoring his promise" to stick with public funding is that his fundraising was weak -- even after he acquired the nomination quickly. Don't rewrite history.

Too Funny!

A teacher asked her 6th grade class how many of them were Obama fans. Not really knowing what an Obama fan is, but wanting to be liked by the teacher, all the kids raised their hands except for little Johnny. The teacher asked Little Johnny why he has decided to be different.
Little Johnny said, 'Because I'm not an Obama fan.'
The teacher asked, 'Why aren't you an Obama fan?'
Johnny said, 'Because I'm a Republican.'
The teacher asked him why he's a Republican.
Johnny answered, 'Well, my Mom's a Republican and my Dad's a Republican, so I'm a Republican.'
Annoyed by this answer, the teacher asked, 'If your mom was a moron and your dad was an idiot, what would that make you?'
With a big smile, Little Johnny replied, 'That would make me an Obama fanʼ

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