Tuesday, November 4, 2008

It's all about Virginia

The Ladies of LadyFaces are at times a little partial to Virginia. One of us grew up in the great commonwealth, and both of us went to a fine learning institution founded by the greatest president ever in that very same state.

But it really is all about Virginia this year. Folks'll tell you that the last time Virginia voted for a dem was way back forty four years ago when Lyndon Johnson ran on the "Kennedy got shot and y'all love me" ticket. Since then: zilch.

That's a bit misleading though. Despite a very red state legislature, Virginians have recently turned blue, electing two consecutive popular Democratic Governors and one Democratic Senator. Those kids down there south of the Mason-Dixon are also about to replace Republican Senator John Warner with Democratic (former Governor) Mark Warner.

And the polls also put the race there close, with an advantage to Obama. We all know polls can be very misleading, but Virginia should be a big indicator of how the rest of the night will go. So if you're getting news at 7, it's worth paying attention to how VA has turned out. If it's clear enough to be called for Obama, then he'll probably end up victorious. If it's close, expect a long night.

No guarantees, but it'll tell you something.

There's my sage wisdom. Enjoy it.

1 comments:

Sarah Peters said...

I am so very proud of my home state! Since moving away I've been working as a barista in Portland, OR and last night we had NPR piping through the lobby speakers and the NY Times patchwork map on the computer in the back.

Tension ran high at my Starbucks as more counties from VA reported their results. Finally, VA flipped from light red to light blue and I could breathe easier.

And when the whole state turned a historic ink blue by the end of the night, I knew Obama would bring the victory home - and also that I wouldn't have to fear ostracization and merciless teasing at work!