Sheesh! You’d think that all the campaign news is about how George Allen has a lead in the polls and in fundraising. Oh wait…it is!

But still, is it time for the Democrats to despair? According to J.C. Wilmore over at The Richmond Democrat it apparently is.

Wilmore writes: …the Webb campaign, which I was part of, always seemed to be a day late and a buck short. Webb’s field operation was chronically understaffed and uncoordinated. Volunteer coordinators were often caught between the campaign’s expectations and the demands made by volunteers that were enthusiastic, but not terribly experienced in the ways of political campaigns.

Not all is bad news for the Webb folks. After all, Webb one an award this week. Over at Not Larry Sabato Webb is the “Weenie of the Week.”

NLS points to this Press Release from the Webb campaign quoted over at Raising Kaine. The release attempts to poke fun at Allen with phrases like YEE HA Pardner! We’re bustin with so much pride our chaps are chaffing!

Good grief. Who’s Webb’s campaign manager? Cowboy Curtis?

It’s a beautiful day in Nags Head. Somewhere deep within me there’s a spiritual and emotional need to spend time on the beach. A nice long walk this morning,and then back to the house for breakfast and a leisurely reading of the paper.

I don’t normally read the Virginian-Pilot, but it was what was available at the grocery store this morning. We know they’ve never met a Democrat they couldn’t idolize,and we know they take every chance to snark at Republicans. So this morning’s editorial, Allen backed Craney, but not its roads the Pilot says “if Senator Allen is the champion he claims to be for Craney Island, then why has he failed to back the roads needed to unlock its treasure?”

the Pilot says “if Senator Allen is the champion he claims to be for Craney Island, then why has he failed to back the roads needed to unlock its treasure?”First the Pilot forgets that Allen hasn’t been Governor for over nine years. And they forget that he was elected to streamline state government and to cut the waste. This, as much as the Democrat controlled General Assembly would allow, he did. VDOT was bloated and mismanaged.

But beyond that, the Pilot leaves out facts of what has transpired since Allen left office. Transportation has always been an issue of concern.

The standard Democratic response is always “we need more money, we must raise taxes.”

Forty days into office Governor Mark Warner broke his “I will not raise taxes” campaign pledge and spent the next three years manufacturing a budget crisis that never existed.Â

In 2002, the voters of Hampton Roads overwhelmingly rejected tax referendum to pay for their own road improvements. Northern Virginia rejected a similar measure. And while both regions continue to whine about their transportation woes (perhaps rightfully so) the overwhelming message was that their was no need to raise taxes.

The result? Warner finally pulled off Virginia’s largest ever tax increase. And what happened with that? Amazingly, the state yielded a budget surplus in an amount almost identical to the tax increase.

There were shouts that the money should have been returned to the people. But Warner and his RINO buddies in the Senate never considered that an option. They spent it all.

Now we hear Warner’s successor, who also made a campaign promise not to raise taxes, saying the state needs more money.

No, the state does not need more money. It needs more fiscal accountability.Â

Enough is enough.

Senator Allen knows that.

And although they’ll never admit it, so does the Virginian-Pilot.

Ward’s going on vacation, look for him here.

We’ll check in when we can.

Not Larry Sabato has an exclusive report on the results of the Mason-Dixon poll. Embargoed until Sunday, NLS is reporting the results on the web.

Allen 48, Webb 32

NLS questions why, with his name recognition, Allen can’t poll over 50%.

Even the guys over at Raising Kaine have this to say: P.S. You might want to keep in mind that Mary Sue Terry was up by 48 points in May 1993, before going on to be clobbered by George Allen in November. The point is, polls at this point don’t mean a heck of a lot, except that an incumbent like Allen with near-100% name ID should be above 50%.

Yeah, yeah. We hear ya. But the fact is that after 8 years in office Mary Sue Terry had some pretty high negative numbers. George Allen beat her with a positive, upbeat campaign.

All Webb can do is get angry and get caught with things like not recognizing Craney Island. Sure he may not have known about the dredging project. But as a former Secretary of the Navy he certainly should have recognized that the other Craney Island is the Navy’s largest fuel facility.

And let’s not forget Webb’s bluster about Allen and “special oil interests” when the facts are that Webb owns a substantial amount of stock in Exxon and Chevron.

You just have to see this!

I don’t know who wrote this and neither did the person who posted it on another forum. But I think it’s pretty funny…

It started out innocently enough. I began to think at parties now and then — just to loosen up.Â

Inevitably, though, one thought led to another, and soon I was more than just a social thinker. I began to think alone — to relax, I told myself — but I knew it wasn’t true. Thinking became more and more important to me, and finally I was thinking all the time.Â

That was when things began to sour at home. One evening I had turned off the TV and asked my wife about the meaning of life. She spent that night at her mother’s.Â

I began to think on the job. I knew that thinking and employment don’t mix, but I couldn’t stop myself. I began to avoid friends at lunchtime so I could read Thoreau and Kafka. I would return to the office dizzied and confused, asking, What is it exactly we are doing here?Â

One day the boss called me in. He said “Listen, I like you, and it hurts me to say this, but your thinking has become a real problem. If you don’t stop thinking at work, you’ll have to find another job.”Â

This gave me a lot to think about. I came home early after my conversation with the boss. “Honey, I confess, I’ve been thinking . . . “Â

“I know you’ve been thinking,” she said, “and I want a divorce!”Â

“But Honey, surely it’s not that serious.”Â

“It is serious,” she said, lower lip aquiver. “You think as much as college professors, and college professors don’t make any money, so if you keep on thinking, we won’t have any money!”Â

“That’s a faulty syllogism,” I said impatiently. She exploded in tears of rage and frustration, but I was in no mood to deal with the emotional drama.Â

“I’m going to the library,” I snarled as I stomped out the door. I headed for the library, in the mood for some Nietzsche. I roared into the parking lot with NPR on the radio and ran up to the big glass doors . . . they didn’t open. The library was closed.Â

To this day, I believe that a Higher Power was looking out for me that night. Leaning on the unfeeling glass, whimpering for Zarathustra, a poster caught my eye, “Friend, is heavy thinking ruining your life?” it asked.Â

You probably recognize that line. It comes from the standard Thinkers Anonymous poster. Which is why I am what I am today: a recovering thinker.Â

I never miss a TA meeting. At each meeting we watch a non-educational video; last week it was “Porky’s.” Then we share experiences about how we avoided thinking since the last meeting.Â

I still have my job, and things are a lot better at home. Life just seemed … . easier, somehow, as soon as I stopped thinking. I think the road to recovery is nearly complete for me.Â

Virginia Senate

Allen vs. Webb:Â Advantage Allen

Rasmussen Reports
July 27, 2006
Republican Senator George Allen Incumbent Republican Senator George Allen continues to draw support from a majority of Virginia voters in his bid for re-election to the U.S. Senate. The latest Rasmussen Reports survey of 500 likely voters shows Allen leading Democrat James Webb 50% to 39%.While essentially unchanged from a month ago, these numbers represent minor downturns for both candidates since our previous survey where Allen led Webb 51% to 41%.

Sen. George Allen Builds Lead Over James Webb in Virginia
NewsMax.com
Sen. George Allen, R-Va., maintains a double-digit lead over Democratic challenger James Webb in two separate Zogby polls conducted in Virginia.
The side-by-side Zogby telephone and interactive polls show nearly identical margins in U.S. Senate race. Allen, who is often mentioned as a likely 2008 presidential candidate, leads Web by 11 points in the interactive online survey, 52 percent to 41 percent, with 5 percent undecided. That survey, conducted July 11-19, has a margin nearly 4 percent margin of error.
The telephone poll showed Allen with a 10–point edge, 47% to 37%, with 15% undecided. It was conducted July 12–15, 2006, and carries a margin of error of +/– 4.5 percentage points. Â