[Rhodes22-list] Political - Obama coming to Roanoke, VA

[Lowe, Rob]

And the locals are excited!  I would go but I already committed to
helping a friend teach his class.  Can't miss out on a chance to impart
more liberal ideas to the young.  Obama has spent a lot of time in
Southwest Virginia and it's paying off.  Obama announced his campaign in
Bristol, Virginia at the high school my wife went to.  It was a standing
room only crowd who waited hours to hear him speak.  Later, a trip to
Lebanon, Virginia, a (very) small town out in the middle of nowhere,
home to Joe Six Pack and Joe the Plumber.  The latest polls show Obama
with a slight lead in the state, mostly due to increased support from
people in rural areas, long a republican stronghold.  My uncle-in-law
had the honor of driving Obama from the Bristol Airport to Lebanon and
said it was one of the highlights of his life.  Thousands came to hear
him speak in an area that is routinely ignored by all the politicians.
And Obama's final comment was that he would not forget about the issues
and the people from rural Appalachia.  And now, a trip to Roanoke, just
an hour up the road.  Everyone in my office is talking about it.  Damn,
wish I could go.  Guess I'll have to settle for Senator Jim Webb (junior
senator from Virginia) who is speaking on campus tomorrow night. - rob