Halloween on the stump

Five Brits arrived in Falls Church, Fairfax, northern Virginia, today to campaign for Barack Obama.

It has been a beautiful late summer day, reminiscent of May 1997. Clear blue sky, warm sunshine - perfect for change.

Our hosts - Virginia and Bill - have been wonderful, making us at home instantly.

We picked up a car from Rent-a-Wreck. And then it was down to the Falls Church campaign centre. We were sent out canvassing, picking up support for Obama where voters haven't been contacted already.

We faced competition from the trick or treaters. But it meant that lots of people were at home and answered the door. Sometimes it was difficult to know who was in costume or just going about their normal business.

Almost every other house has a sign outside for their favoured candidate - Obama is winning by at least three to one where we are campaigning. Of course, this is northern Virginia.

It really does feel like this is a seminal election - huge change is on the way.

Four days to go...

Standing up in northern Virginia

The Republicans think that northern Virignia is not 'real Virginia'. Check out this clip:

http://dcist.com/2008/10/20/will_the_real_virginia_please_stand.php

So that's why this blog is called 'Virginia Real'!

We Brits will be hitting Fairfax (northern Virginia for those of you who don't know) for Halloween ie very soon. Lots of tales from the streets and doorsteps to follow...

Every vote will count

Make sure you don't wake up on 5 November and regret that you didn't vote. Don't be like Laura Sewell:

http://www.cnnbcvideo.com/index.html?nid=B3UwsHlnvqs7GzpbpvahuzEzNTU3Ng

We'll be rounding up voters in Virginia shortly!

The real Virginia?

Getting packed to fly out to northern Virginia later this week. The excitement is mounting, Barack is keeping calm in the face of growing Republican nonsense and election day is just over a week away.

We're looking forward to meeting our host in Fairfax, who is called - guess what - Virginia! The local campaign organiser is Esther Oh.

We arrive on Halloween. It should be great fun getting out the vote for Obama. Hope the canvassers don't get too many tricks.

More laughs on the campaign trail

Just to get us all in the mood as we prepare to fly to Virginia, here's the latest endorsement of the McCain/Palin ticket:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/oliverburkemanblog/2008/oct/24/uselections2008-sarahpalin

Barack reveals his true identity

If you want to know why we Brits are heading across the ocean to support change in the USA, take a look at this snippet courtesy of the BBC:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7675927.stm

Even John McCain thought it was good!

Welcome to Virginia Real

I am a Brit heading to Virginia to help Barack Obama be elected President of the USA on 4 November 2008. I will be reporting from the frontline for the last five days of the campaign.

I wanted to call this blog 'The Virginian' but that wasn't available. And one of the state nicknames, 'Mother of Presidents' has also been taken.

So I've plumped for 'Virginia Real'. If you read the extract from wikipedia below, you will understand why I've chosen this name. Enjoy!

Virginia was given the title, "Dominion", by King Charles II of England at the time of The Restoration, because it had remained loyal to the crown during the English Civil War, and the present moniker, "Old Dominion" is a reference to that title. The other nickname, "Mother of Presidents," is also historic, as eight Virginians have served as President of the United States, including four of the first five: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, Zachary Taylor, and Woodrow Wilson. Additionally, Virginian Sam Houston served as president of the Republic of Texas.
The seal was designed in 1776, and the flag was first used in the 1830s, both were made official in 1930. The majority of the symbols were made official in the late 20th century, though the state motto and seal have been official since Virginia declared its independence. The Virginia reel is among the square dances classified as the state dance. Virginia currently has no state song. In 1940, Virginia made "Carry Me Back to Old Virginny" the state song, but it was retired in 1997 and reclassified as the state song emeritus. Various alternatives, including a version of "Oh Shenandoah," have met with resistance in the Virginia House of Delegates