I think the most important question that needs to be answered is what he expects to accomplish. Is he running to help Kaine? A lot of Republicans have argued that. Or, could it be that the Republican party has moved so far to the right that it has left behind moderates like Potts?

I will confess that I don’t care for Leslie Byrne. I realize this is a reaction based on emotion and gut rather than logic, but I’ve met Ms. Byrne and something about her just didn’t strike me right. I can’t describe my feeling, exactly, but it’s enough to make me hesitant to vote for her.

As for the gubernatorial election … I’ve got a soft spot for third-party candidates who probably won’t win. My gut feeling about Kaine is that he’s got the Warner-era good government on his side. Kilgore, on the other hand, spends far too much time on cultural issues to earn my respect.

Potts, though. As soon as I read that he wants to call a special session of the legislature to address Virginia’s transportation system, he got my attention. Since I live in Northern Virginia, somebody who has something useful to say about roads is somebody for whom I’m inclined to vote.

And, truth to be told, I call myself “liberal” or “centrist,” but there’s a strong Northeastern Republican streak in me … and anybody who’s browbeating state Republicans for moving too far to the right on cultural issues certainly gets my attention … and maybe my vote.

Now that the long dark nightmare (law school + bar) is over, I’m giving serious thought to involving myself with the local political apparatus up here … but before I get involved, I need to get educated, so I’m curious both about your thoughts and about objective views of the situation.

–|PW|–

Have you, PW, and if so what were your observations?

–|PW|–

Tim Kaine showed up in Wise at the yearly RAM held at the fairgrounds. RAM is based in Knoxville and has been coming to Wise for several years. Enter Kaine, to a captive audience-

Great post. It hits at the essence of this campaign. I just do not think I could imagine a better way of pointing up the differences.

I hope the bar went well.