Candidates Boost Their Va. Mileage

McCain supporters who gathered yesterday said their man has gotten a bum rap.

"I don't feel the economy is anywhere near John McCain's fault. We have a Democratic Congress," said Annandale math tutor Mary Pawlow, 64. "John McCain has been in the Senate long enough to see the economy do many strange things."

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, McCain's running mate, continued to be a figure of intense interest.

Ina Marie Davis, 36, of Springfield held a fluorescent pink sign that read "Tow Truck Lady" and screamed approval at partisan jabs from McCain and the Virginia GOP luminaries backing him. Asked what she likes best about McCain, she gave a one-word answer: "Palin."

"She's got it all," the tow-truck driver said. "She knows about life. She's a mom. She's a fighter. She's made it. She doesn't take 'no' for an answer."

George Thompson of Springfield, who is retiring this year from the drywall business he started, said he is not surprised that Virginia is now in play for the Democrats, because of Obama's youth and energy. He came to the McCain rally without his family. His daughters support Obama.

"I just hope John McCain four years from now quotes Mark Twain: 'The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated,' " Thompson said, noting that, at 62, he does not appreciate what feels like the dismissal of the 72-year-old McCain by some because of age. "They're putting him in the grave -- like those people don't have grandparents, or fathers."

Virginians continued to flock to the polls yesterday to vote in person by absentee ballot. In heavily Democratic Richmond City, there was a five-hour wait. Hundreds of people, many using walkers and wheelchairs, waited in a line that snaked around City Hall.

"I wouldn't be able to come Tuesday 'cause I need assistance; I just had knee replacement," said Ella Garland, 64, who waited five hours. "It was worth it. Obama is worth it. I'd do it all again."

Although many of the people in line said they were planning to vote for Obama, Lucile Hayes, 70, cast her vote for McCain.

"It was my duty for my country to come wait in line today because I have arthritis and did not know if I could vote" Tuesday, Hayes said after her almost 4 1/2 -hour wait. "I just had surgery, so I had to sit down a lot, but I am a Christian. God made me a Republican."

Since in-person absentee voting began in Virginia two weeks ago, Gloria Nash Allen has been volunteering for a senior center to drive people to the polls. But yesterday, she waited for hours while her husband, a trucker who will be on the road Tuesday, cast his ballot.

"I've never seen it like this before," Allen said. "It is amazing just watching them coming in wheelchairs and with walkers, and I know for a fact a lot of these people showing up have never voted before."