Decision Virginia

Ryan Nobles - bio | email

The McCain camp has put out a dispatch featuring Virginians singing the praises of the Sarah Palin pick.  One name not on the list is Rep. Eric Cantor. I’ve reached out to his office to see if he has any opinion. His staff told the Times-Dispatch today that he is spending the day with constituents.

I also reached out to the McCain folks today to see if and when there will be a visit in the near future from either member of the newly formed ticket. All they would tell me is that they “can’t confirm anything right now.”

After the jump you can read the comments from the McCain “Virginia Leadership Team” Read the rest of this entry »

Ryan Nobles - bio | email

There would not have been too many running mates that Sen. John McCain could have picked that would have been a bigger surprise on the national scene than local Congressman Eric Cantor, but he did it. From my reading, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, especially leading up to today’s announcement, was getting less buzz than Cantor. 

It just shows that when you think have figured things out, politics can surprise you. The fact that the pick was Palin, shows no matter what the rumors are, you cannot take anything for granted. We could have easily woke up this morning to learn that it was Cantor.

It will be interesting to see what kind of impact this will have on Virginia. There are two groups of voters that Palin could help McCain with 1-disaffected female voters who were rooting for Hillary Clinton and 2- social conservatives who, up until this point, have only had a lukewarm feeling about McCain’s maverick ways.  In Virginia, my feeling is that it will be the second area that will help McCain. Barack Obama destroyed Hillary Clinton in the Commonwealth. McCain beat Mike Huckabee by around 9 points, when he was expected to win by a large margin. McCain lost in conservative areas of the state and with voters who described themselves as concerned with social issues.

Regardless, it is a risky, game changing pick.

Ryan Nobles - bio | email

Tim Kaine went on the attack in his short, 6 minute, speech from Denver. He spoke about his faith and even mixed in a little Spanish, but it was clear he was up there to go after Republicans. It is interesting that he was used in that fashion when you consider that pundits claimed one of his weaknesses as a potential VP Pick, was that he wouldn’t be able to criticize John McCain.

Two of his big attacks are after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »

Richmond Delegate Dwight Jones (who also happens to be a candidate for Mayor), just called me, moments after Governor Kaine’s speech concluded. He was almost overwhelmed by the experience. Del. Jones is the pastor of a fairly large church in Richmond and has been in politics for some time. It is safe to say he has been around a while and witnessed quite a bit. He called tonight “The most incredible experience of his public service career.” This before Barack Obama even comes to the stage.

More later…