Hangin' in there. Still no breakthrough I've seen for Hurst. I'm hoping Foleygate will have an overall positive effect for Dems. Maybe with the local (and national) spotlight off Allen, Webb will see some benefit in exploiting Foleygate to augment his support in critically important Northern Virginia. I don't know if Webb's campaign is thinking of doing this (or even if anyone ever does this) but why couldn't one build one's own coattails. Throw a little money Andy's way. Anyone driven to the polls to vote for Hurst would certainly vote for Webb higher up on the ballot.

Davis is still pretty tightlipped about Hastert. Over the years, I've noticed Tom's tendency to say some pretty non-party line things about GOP sacred cows like abortion. In today's Post, Davis's named staffer resurrects one of Bush's lowlights in saying "Heckuva job Brownie" in a story about Bush's signing statement reserving the right to ignore Congress's requirement that FEMA Directors actually have prior relevant experience. It's comforting to see that in the wake of Bush's falling poll numbers and Foleygate that Davis is feeling more free to at least sound more like the moderate he needs to pretend to be in order to get re-elected.

I read the endorsement in the latest issue of a local paper called The Chronicle. Interestingly, the paper acknowledged the validity of those seeking change to vote for Hurst. I don't know what The Chronicle said two years ago, but I bet it didn't go that far. Alas, this week, The Chronicle saying it was conflicted, opted in the end to say Davis was "effective" and deserved another two years. Of course, I don't want to overstate the importance of The Chronicle's endorsement, but I'm starting to get the sense that Davis will be re-elected.

In my excitement in starting this blog, I hoped to see that the 11th District really was ready to turn blue enough to dump Davis. I still have hope. My secondary dream was to see Davis dented in order to derail his political future, most importantly the widely held belief that he hopes to succeed Warner in the Senate in '08.

In the end, the principles and values I hold dear are more important than the results in the 11th on Nov. 7. And, I'm confident, the 11th will eventually do the right thing. I must remember that if Hurst does win on Nov. 7, it almost has to mean that Democrats are kicking ass just about everywhere else in the U.S. And, if Hurst loses on Nov. 7, there's still a good chance Davis will be in the minority in the next Congress. Whatever the outcome, I hope I don't forget to thank Andy for fighting the good fight. You can be sure I won't forget to monitor Davis and call him out every time he deserves it.

If Hurst wins, I'm not sure what I'll dedicate this blog to next. If Davis wins, this blog will be re-dedicated to making sure Davis and his ilk fare even worse in 2008.

And, remember Tom; you always can denounce Bush and your leaders, apologize for your misdeeds, and start voting the right way. I dare you to. Make me vote for a Republican for the first time in my life.  ¶ 10:45 AM