After a moment, he added, a bit wistfully, “Of course, I like the old Virginia, too.”

As a young man, Webb was a Democrat before he was a Republican, back before the Democrats were seen as the party of elitists by nice southern boys. After Vietnam, the political climate shifted, and a chasm opened. Part of Webb’s mission, articulated in his books and in recent interviews, is to rediscover that “old Virginia,” not necessarily the old Virginia of plantations and debutantes. ~Christina Larson

As someone who loved Southside Virginia and “the old Virginia” still represented down there when I was in college, I hope Webb wins.  Not simply to rid us of his ridiculous opponent, which would be service enough, but because he understands that old Virginia and its people at a more visceral and meaningful level than the Californian ever will.