Somebody thought Mitt would be shoe in no matter what he did so rather than waste money planning a campaign during the Super Tuesday coordinated primary period they figured out how Mitt could win ~ by disqualifying all his competitors.
So, that's what they did AND they got caught at it.
All at once Virginia was no longer an easy win for whoever ran as a Republican, Romney had stepped into a quagmire of his own making and now Obama might actually have a chance!
Then, Obama continues to show amazing resilience in states that went for him in 2008, so it's worth his while to campaign here.
Both Obama and Romney spent the week here. Obama in front of protected audiences in highschool gyms (relatively smaller venues than he did last time0 and Romney continued to make unannounced appearances before small clusters of the local gentry, and rich donors.
Neither man has the guts to campaign here. We don't like them!
Mitt made the Virginia primary rules? Really?
Depends on which polling you choose to believe. PPP is a decidedly Left leaning polling organization and the fact Obama is not ahead in States he won last year is a very bad sign for him. He is a known quantity now and there are very few undecideds for him to grab. If as likely voter polls show currently Romney is ahead by double digits among Independents and this lead holds he will win and win fairly handily.