The Obama campaign made a series of stops in the Commonwealth recently. Among those was a rally at J.R. Tucker High in Henrico County, a suburb of Richmond.
"Isn't it great to be a swing state?" asked first lady Anne Holton as she began her remarks to the crowd of 150 gathered in an outdoor courtyard. The campaign's continued focus on Virginia is evidence of how seriously they take the opportunity to turn this traditionally red state to blue in 2008.
Vice Presidential nominee, Sen. Joe Biden was scheduled to appear at this rally and others in the Commonwealth. However, his appearances were canceled due to the illness and subsequent passing of his mother-in-law Bonny Jean Jacobs. But the Obama campaign demonstrated its flexibility and bench-strength by bringing in Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind. A supporter of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton during the primary season, Bayh has since come onboard as an enthusiastic Obama supporter.
In his initial remarks, Bayh made a point of responding to a comment from the McCain camp about parts of Virginia being "communist country." "There are strange notions on the other side. They're trying to distract people from the real issues," he remarked.
Bayh continued efforts to connect McCain with the Bush administration. "In 3-1/2 months the Bush administration is going to be over, finished, done. We know we're going to have a new president. But the question is who and what policies will they enact. The price John McCain paid for his party's nomination was that he had to embrace Bush policies."
He also spoke about healthcare, asking the crowd "how many of you have health insurance through their employer?" (approximately 90% raised their hands). And he continued, referencing that the McCain plan would cause millions to "be without health insurance. That's the wrong direction we want to head in. This is one of the major issues at stake in this election."
After commenting on the money spent in Iraq and Sen. McCain's positions on the war, he took a few questions from the crowd. He was asked about education and fulfilling the promised of "No Child Left Behind," as well as social security and medicare, corporate accountability, and earmarks in the rescue plan. A wide range of questions from a demographically diverse crowd.
Bayh concluded by urging the crowd to avoid the distractions of "personal attacks and ads about Paris Hilton that trivialize the issues." He compared Indiana and Virginia as swing states and said that Sen. Obama "wants your support and is aggressive in coming to your state and mine."
Participants at the rally appeared to heavily favor Obama. OffTheBus talked to two sisters who were self-described Obama supporters and their mother, a former Clinton supporter who they've brought on board since the primary campaign ended. To celebrate one sister's birthday, the three had spent the day volunteering at the Obama offices. They describe their father as a "psycho McCain supporter". Disagreement within this one family seems to represent the ideological divide throughout the nation.