Paul Harris back in the AG field
By Bob Gibson
Daily Progress political blogger

  Former Albemarle County Republican Del. Paul Harris is rescinding his “I am not a candidate in 2009” stance of March 10.

  Now that Bob McDonnell and Bill Bolling are running together as a GOP team for governor and lieutenant governor, respectively, Harris is back in the mix as one of four top Republican potential candidates as their running mate for attorney general.

    The closest to an official candidacy is Sen. Kenneth T. Cuccinelli, R-Fairfax County, who told a group in Charlottesville last weekend that he is close to announcing his bid.

    The other three names are those of Harris, Sen. Mark D. Obenshain, R-Harrisonburg, and the Albemarle County Republican who followed Harris in the House seat from Albemarle: Del. Rob Bell.

    Cuccinelli has some strong early support on the right side of the party.

    Bell and Harris have to sort things out soon, much sooner than usual, and Obenshain is being urged by some to run but has not yet made a firm decision.

    Harris said today, “I want to talk to a few people and make a decision in the next six weeks.“

    That’s a switch from his conversation on March 10, when the Manassas resident sent the following message to friends describing his decision:

    “Dear Friend,
After much prayer and meditation, I have decided not to be a candidate for public office in 2009.  Over the past several months I have been called upon by party activists and leaders to consider seeking public office again next year.  Indeed, I have been humbled by the many words of encouragement and support from good Republicans (and a few Democrats) from all regions of the Commonwealth.  But now is not the time.“ 

    Harris went on to explain his reasoning, but things change in politics, as in life.

Why does my mouth head south?
By Bob Gibson
Daily Progress political blogger

  Why in the world does my mouth head south when I talk on the phone with someone like Virginia GOP Chairman John Hager?

  Hager is from the South—North Carolina and Richmond—and has a marvelous southern drawl that extends vowels to their fullest horizontal righteousness.

  Time slows down and words wrap themselves around thoughts as a warm summer night’s dip in a pool refreshes a tired soul.

    I am from Arlington, grew up there, and have hung out in Charlottesville.

    This is a place close to, partly in, the South that welcomes folks from everywhere and claims a history that leans south but language that flies in from other places.

    I can’t help myself from drifting south when talking with a son of south of here. Perhaps the slow taking of verbal teas is a refreshment.

By Bob Gibson
Daily Progress political blogger

  With my NCAA Tournament pool entry in the tank already, somehow I felt inspired today to try writing the worst pun of the year.

    This weekend’s Political Notebook tends to be an otherwise serious piece about Del. Robert H. Brink, D-Arlington, becoming a victim of a federal identity theft crime.

    A bad pun, a jab at hairy questions of virtual justice, seemed the best way to add a touch of light to an otherwise dark tale of Internet woe:

    This July 1, a new state law is scheduled to take effect that could slow down crusaders’ raw bits of posted data that could be carrots to criminals.