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I live in Southeast Virginia (Virginia Beach area), and I think this race is very close. I’ve seen exponentially more enthusiasm in this region for McCain/Palin than I ever saw for Bush/Cheney (in either 2000 or 2004). Sure, there are more Obama/Biden supporters, too. But Virginia is traditionally a conservative state (forget about NoVA). It’ll be closer than it was in 2004, but I still think McCain has got a great shot in this state. Maybe, just MAYBE, Obama wins VA. But, if after spending hundreds of millions in advertising, putting on his own prime-time variety show, and visiting southeast VA twice in the past two weeks, he STILL can’t get over 50%, his chance of winning this state are small. For God’s sake, people know him by now. His ads are EVERYWHERE. Yet, it seems a majority in this state still don’t trust him. I don’t see why they would change their minds now.

As a long-time reader, but very infrequent commenter, I feel like I actually have something to add to this conversation.

I attended James Madison University in Harrisonburg, VA, and had Dr. Roberts as a professor for three classes. He's a really nice guy and a self-described “independent” (to me, that generally means “liberal,” but in his case, the label was true - he really liked George Allen and Mark Warner, but didn't care for Jim Gilmore; he is a social conservative, but fiscal liberal).

The only thing that makes Harrisonburg vote Democrat is the rather large college presence of JMU. The vast majority of Harrisonburg residents are conservative; it is just that they are outnumbered by the college kids and liberal professors.

I currently live in Chesapeake, and the level of enthusiasm down here for McCain/Palin is off the charts. The local Republican headquarters is always busy, and they consistently run out of signs and bumper stickers. I lived in this region during the 2004 election, and never saw this level of support. While Chesapeake has a strong Republican presence, I am seeing yardsigns in front of homes that had never displayed one before.

I know anecdotes do not equate to data; however, in my own neighborhood, there are 23 homes with McCain/Palin yardsigns and 4 displaying Obama/Biden. In 2004, there were exactly two homes with yardsigns - one for Bush/Cheney and one for Kerry/Edwards. While Democratic turnout may be higher than ever before, I don't think anyone should count out the fact that Republican turnout may be high, as well.

Upon graduating from JMU, I lived in Arlington, VA for two years. That area is a lost cause, and is filled with upper class liberal whites who would do just as well living in Seattle, and middle class government workers who invariably vote Democrat. I'm sure in an Obama administration, that will only get worse, and VA may become a lost cause entirely.

I don't doubt Obama is up in the polls in VA right now. As someone who has lived in three separate regions of the state for an extended period of time (Southeast VA, the Shenandoah Valley, and Northern VA), the demographics are favoring the Democrats. But, the state is not lost yet, and we will not go silently.

He’s a socialist? Really?!? I’ve heard people say he is pro-abortion, a gun-grabber, etc., but I’ve never heard them say he’s a socialist before. If he was a socialist, I’d think his economic policies would match those of Hillary, Obama, Edwards, and Huckabee, but they don’t. I’d say he’s a social liberal, but not a socialist (in the economic sense).

(Full disclosure: I am a Yankees fan). I don’t view it as a whiny response. I watched his press conference today and he clearly stated $5 million is a heck of a lot of money and certainly more money than he will make this year. Torre viewed it as an insult to offer only a one year contract with a reduced salary and incentives. The incentives themselves were insulting, he said, because he viewed management as saying he needed extra money to be motivated, when that clearly wasn’t the case.

I like Joe; he’s a class act. This wasn’t a Patrick Ewing type quote (i.e. he wasn’t saying anything to the effect of he couldn’t feed his family on such a paltry salary). He was mainly stating a fact that for all he did for the Yankees organization (playoffs every year he was there, ten AL East titles, 6 World Series appearances and 4 World Series championships vs. only 1 playoff appearance and no World Series appearances in the 10 years prior to his arrival) they weren’t willing to work with him at all on the terms of his contract. And yes, it does appear insulting to think the manager who brought so much to the team needs extra incentives to be motivated after all he had done for the organization.

In any case, this isn’t Torre being greedy or saying that $5 million itself is insulting. I’m pretty sure from his comments today that he doesn’t feel that way at all. He mainly just viewed the overall terms as insulting, and I frankly have to agree. He did a great deal to turn that franchise around and successfully managed an entire team of egos; he didn’t deserve to be treated this way, but it’s par for the course for Steinbrenner.

Prayers to you, your brother and your family.

I also had aortic regurgitation, along with aortic stenosis and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. My aorta valve was replaced with a mechanical valve at the Mayo Clinic in 1997 and I have been doing well ever since (it was my fourth open-heart surgery - the first having been when I was 11 days old, a second when I was five years old, a third when I was 10, and the fourth when I was 18).

Personally, I would recommend the mechanical valve, if it is medically possible, simply because it shouldn’t have to be replaced, whereas a pig valve will need replacement in about 10-15 years. The only drawback to a mechanical valve is that you need to take an anticoagulant to prevent any blood clots from forming around the valve, which requires a regular blood test (I go about once every three weeks). There is a risk of internal bleeding from your blood becoming too thin, but I’ve never had a problem, and as long as you go for your regular blood tests, it shouldn’t be an issue.

In any case, my best to your brother and your family, and I will keep him in my prayers.

Heeey, something’s fishy here. All the online polls I see suggest Ron Paul is leading with 98%

/s

It looks like he attacked AGW in a recent “Fred Thompson Report” on ABC Radio. You can read about it here:
http://abcradio.com/article.asp?id=386579&SPID=15663

Wow. As a college student in Harrisonburg, VA, I never thought I’d see a link to the DNR. It’s a conservative paper, but in a very small town.

I’m glad to see Thompson in the race. I’m a supporter of Duncan Hunter, Mike Huckabee and Tom Tancredo, but I’ll gladly board the Thompson Express if/when he secures the nomination.

And as a long-time lurker and first-time poster, I think this is going to be a fun ride!