Politico: 'Virginia is center of political universe'

Politicians, staffers, and grassroots on both sides of the aisle have been gearing up for a while as they prepare for the November 2012 showdown in Virginia. It's no secret we are a battleground state after Obama's win in 2008, marking the first time a Democrat had won the state's presidential nod in decades. In both the presidential and U.S. Senate race, the battle will be fierce and will probably go down to the wire.

Thursday's Politico was even more blunt: "Virginia is the center of the political universe," it blared in case anyone had not been paying attention. Sounding the bugle call, Politico laid it on the line in their article titled "The state both parties want" by Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns:

VIRGINIA IS THE CENTER OF THE POLITICAL UNIVERSE: Note that Romney campaigned here yesterday and today. Obama is speaking at a high school in Arlington tomorrow and kicking off his campaign in Richmond on Saturday. Romney's coming back to speak in Lynchburg next week.

"Virginia Republicans all say publicly that they believe Romney will put the state back in the GOP column, but many will concede privately that the general election begins with Obama a few points ahead," Jonathan Martin and Alex Burns write in the story leading our site this morning. "Virginia's composition of voters ensures a politically competitive environment that will make it pivotal for Democrats who rely on centrists to win the White House and Republicans who must compensate for cultural weaknesses in the Northeast and West by holding the South intact. It's no behemoth like Florida, but Virginia is becoming the consummate swing state for the same reasons that have made the Sunshine State so crucial for decades."

On cue, a PPP poll shows Tim Kaine and George Allen basically tied at 46-45 in the Senate race: http://bit.ly/IHBygk.

Put on your running shoes, cancel all events on the calendar, and be ready with those yard signs, your dialing finger for phone banking, and a smile on your face for door-to-door. It's going to be intense.