For almost two years now we, the American voters, have been inundated with candidates, polls, emails, debates, commercials, youtube videos, speeches, surrogates, mailings and phone calls. Tomorrow, the great horse race reaches its conclusion, and the outcome is entirely in our hands.

As you go to the polls and consider casting your vote for the 44th President of the United States, many last minute questions may run through your head. As this nation faces a time of multiple crises and tough decisions about our future, choosing the right leader may be more important tomorrow than it has been in more than a generation. Ultimately, this election boils down to a simple choice between two men, Barack Obama and John McCain. Thus, in making that choice, I believe that the two most important questions for each voter to consider are the following:

1. Which candidate is best prepared to lead this nation from the moment he takes the oath of office and to respond to whatever future crises he will face over the next four years?

2. Which candidate has the record to support his promises to the American people in this campaign?

Both candidates are impressive men who have overcome a great deal to be the last two standing at this point in the election. However, this election is about more than personalities or promises, this election is about the future of the United States of America. This election will decide if America remains the leading light of democracy and freedom in the world, or if we fade into the background.

The results of this election are being watched by our citizens, our friends, and our enemies alike. I believe that the two questions above are important because I believe that the stakes in this election are simply too great to entrust to an untested leader. Jobs, National Security, the Economy, Health Care, Energy, Broken Government. All of these are enormous problems facing our nation that require leadership and solutions to resolve. At this time in our nation’s history, a symbolic President is simply no substitute for a real leader.

John McCain is the only candidate who has ever shown the type of leadership, experience and sacrifice that our nation needs at this unique moment. He is also the only candidate who has ever shown any ability to work across party lines to achieve results on major issues. John McCain’s life has been an example for others to follow, and as President he will continue to set that example.

For voters who desire a leader who will provide confidence and direction for our nation once again, I believe there to be only one reasoned choice for President. That choice is John McCain, and he will have my vote tomorrow. I hope you will join me.

From the National Review’s Mark Steyn:

This is an amazing race. The incumbent president has approval ratings somewhere between Robert Mugabe and the ebola virus. The economy is supposedly on the brink of global Armageddon. McCain has only $80 million to spend, while Obama’s burning through $600 mil as fast as he can, and he doesn’t really need to spend a dime given the wall-to-wall media adoration. And tonight Chris Matthews’ doctors announced that his leg tingle has metastasized leaving his entire body like a vibrating cellphone whose ringtone is locked on “I’m In Love, I’m In Love, I’m In Love, I’m In Love, I’m In Love With A Wonderful Guy.”

And yet an old cranky broke loser is within two or three points of the King of the World. Strange.

Indeed.

Time Magazine had an interesting article this week about why Virginia is a battleground state this November.  The article focuses primarily on the shifting demographics of suburban DC counties like Prince William that are experiencing dramatic increases in economic and ethnic diversity. However, it may not be these new residents that are putting this region in play as much as it is the longer tenured folks they have replaced at the bottom of the economic ladder.

Consider this article in light of Michael Barone’s recent observations about Pennsylvania.  Barone’s hypothesis about the collapse in housing prices hurting McCain in the Philly suburbs could well be applied to the swath of “McMansions” mentioned in Time’s article about Virginia. As folks at the lower end of the economic spectrum caught the wave of economic growth and became upwardly mobile, they were replaced in their old homes by the new demographics.  As Barone points out, those older, smaller homes had less value to begin with and thus were less affected by the mortgage and real estate collapse.

Thus, if Barack Obama has success in PWC and Virginia at large, it may be due more to economic factors than ethnic ones. Just something to think about as you watch the returns come in on Tuesday night.

Throughout this year’s Virginia Senate race, it seems that much of the focus has been on two major dynamics: Mark Warner’s commanding lead in the polls and the unique match-up between two former Governors.  Unfortunately, I feel that these narratives have obscured a much more important theme that should be addressed in this campaign.  That is, who is best qualified to be one of Virginia’s two representatives in the United States Senate.

If one thinks of an election as a job interview, I doubt many would argue that part of any interview is reviewing each candidate’s resume and looking at their past accomplishments. However, the much more important part of the interview is that part that entails explaining why you are a good fit for the position you are seeking.  It is clear to me that, throughout this Senate campaign, Jim Gilmore has been interviewing with Virginians for the job he hopes to have.  Mark Warner, on the other hand, has almost exclusively focused on his Gubernatorial resume.  As the ones making the hiring decision, Virginia voters ought to be concerned by that.

It is no secret in the Commonwealth that Southwest Virginia’s largest newspaper leans to the left. Likewise, it is no secret that the individuals served by this paper comprise one of the most solidly conservative regions of the State.

Indeed, we Roanoke-area Republicans are used to the RT seizing upon almost any opportunity to paint Republicans in a negative light. Even so, today’s uproarious endorsement of 6th Congressional district candidate Sam Rasoul, who is running against incumbent Congressman Bob Goodlatte, takes the cake.  This grade-school quality composition exhibits a complete abandonment of any attempt at either logic or even-handedness by the editorial staff of this paper. Truly, it is a journalistic embarrassment that ought to be roundly ridiculed.

Now that the stage has fnally been set and all the pieces are in place for this fall’s general election, it is time to look at the choice that Americans will face when they enter the voting booth on November 4.

For me, this choice can be summed up in one simple phrase: “A little less talk, and a lot more action.”

On Friday, one of my favorite bloggers, RealClearPolitics’ Jay Cost, posted an excellent and thorough electoral analysis of the battleground state of Virginia and what it will take for Barack Obama to win the Commonwealth in November.  This is the fourth in a series of battleground state reviews that also includes Pennsylvania, Ohio (here and here) and Colorado.

Cost’s bottom line is this: “I would say that of the four states we have reviewed thus far, Pennsylvania is the most likely to go for Obama, Virginia the least, and Colorado and Ohio fall in between.”  However, Cost also points out that, for Virgina observers on Election Night, the key groups/areas to watch are 1) Washington, 2) Virginia Beach, 3) Richmond, 4) Downstate Whites and 5) African-Americans. How these groups vote in relation to past elections will determine who gets Virginia’s 13 electoral votes.

What Barack Obama’s pick of Joe Biden as his running mate says about his campaign:

“Experience matters to the American people and I recognize that I have none.”

This strikes me as an utterly deflating pick for the Obama campaign. Now John McCain must capitalize on it by making a strong pick of his own that highlights the gap in judgment and experience between the two candidates.

Exit question: Is it a winning strategy for the #2 guy to make the #1 guy look like a lightweight?

This weekend Team USA basketball player Kobe Bryant was interviewed by NBC’s Chris Collinsworth about playing in the Olympics.  The LA Lakers star displayed tremendous poise and confidence in describing his pride at wearing the colors of his nation.  Bryant’s words, delivered in a nation with which the United States has had a tenuous relationship at times, seemed to me in stark contrast with the type of sentiments expressed by many Democrats on much friendlier soil. 

In announcing Mark Warner as the Keynote Speaker for the Democratic National Convention yesterday, Barack Obama’s campaign manager had this to say about the reason for the choice:

“Barack Obama believes you can’t have a strong economy when you have a weak middle class . . . Millions of Americans are struggling to get by, forced to make impossible choices about their future and the future of their families. “

Unfortunately, the Obama-Warner solution to this problem is to grow government by raising taxes on the middle class that take more money out of the pocketbooks of working families, stifle economic growth, and discourage innovation and smart investment.

Obama and Warner might look like a good team on the stage in Denver, but the reality is that it will be working-class Americans who get stuck with the bill.

The Georgian-Russian conflict has been getting a great deal of news coverage the last few days as world leaders, candidates and concerned citizens try to get a handle on what has happened and what should be done to avoid a descent into all-out war.

Fortunately for the rest of the world, Barack Obama is on the scene. As the Russian leadership wrings its hands waiting for some guidance from the international community, the clear, still voice of The Chosen One rings forth, beseeching them to halt the violence. Relieved, the Russians immediately acquiesce to the wishes of the Junior Senator from Illinois.

That is, of course, if you believe the version of events put forth today by our Governor, Tim Kaine.

The recent eruption of hostilities between Russia and the Republic of Georgia is raising a great many questions about America’s foreign policy, our commitments and our allegiances at a very important time for our nation.

Most importantly for the American public are these two questions: “How does the Georgian conflict affect us as a nation?” and “How will it impact the Presidential Election?”

Throughout this campaign season, I’ve been extremely impressed with the work that Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty has done as a surrogate for the McCain campaign.  Pawlenty is impressive not just because he has won two competitive races for Governor running as a conservative in a blue state. Pawlenty also knows how to speak to blue-collar “Reagan Democrats” without being condescending. And if you’ve been paying attention, you’ll know that this group of voters is being wooed heavily by both Presidential campaigns.

In Monday’s Washington Times, Pawlenty offered some analysis on his own Party saying, “[T]he Republican Party adheres to the free market and must realize ‘we’ve been losing market share’ and ‘our customers, namely voters, have been preferring the products of our competitor.’” Pawlenty also offers some solutions to that problem that conservatives of all stripes ought to be able to embrace.

I think John McCain could do a lot worse that picking Tim Pawlenty as his choice for Vice President. Even if he doesn’t though, I have a feeling that we’re going to continue hearing from Pawlenty in the years ahead.

Paris Hilton?

Judge for yourself.

(H/T: HotAir.com)

Thirty years ago today, the Republican Party of Virginia lost its leader, its architect, and its guiding force.  The sudden death of Richard D. Obenshain, who at the time was the Republican nominee for a seat in the United States Senate, was a deep wound to the Party he had nurtured over the previous decade-plus.  In helping to transform the Virginia GOP from a non-factor into a competitive alternative to the Democratic dominance that Virginians had become familiar with, he also laid the groundwork for the continued growth of the party that would extend well beyond his passing. 

Beyond the personal reflection that comes with this day as I think about the loss of my uncle, today is always a day that I also think about what he meant to our Commonwealth and our Party.  Simply put, I think about how best to honor his memory by committing myself to continue his effort to, in his words “have some significant impact in expanding and preserving the realm of personal freedom in the life of this country.”

Consder this an open thread to leave your thoughts, memories, and ideas about the legacy of Richard D. Obenshain and what his words mean for us today.