VIRGINIA BEACH — Sen. John McCain exhorted a crowd of about 16,000 supporters Monday to fight with him to erase a deficit in the national polls three weeks before the presidential election.

Blue Ridge Lumber Company President Tom Sheets believes in Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin’s integrity and accountability and is convinced she “is the face of most Americans.”

STAUNTON — Texas Congressman Chet Edwards is convinced Barack Obama will do all he can to help veterans if the Illinois senator is elected president.

NEW YORK — The economic crisis and raw politics threatened to derail the first presidential debate as John McCain challenged Barack Obama to delay the Friday forum and join forces to help Washington fix the financial mess. Obama rebuffed his GOP rival, saying the next president needs to “deal with more than one thing at once.”

Former Mississippi Gov. Ray Mabus told Waynesboro residents Thursday that Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is the man who cares most about rural America while GOP nominee John McCain and other Republicans are taking small towns for granted.

Democratic nominees Barack Obama and Joe Biden got a rousing endorsement Wednesday at the University of Virginia from the women who know them best — their wives, Michelle Obama and Jill Biden.

With the presidential election less than two months away and the deadline for registering to vote Oct. 6, it’s getting busy in area voter registration offices.

Former Mississippi Gov. Ray Mabus will visit Waynesboro on Thursday for a forum on behalf of presidential candidate Barack Obama to discuss the Democratic presidential nominee’s plans to help Virginians living in rural communities.

LEBANON — Hoping to woo coalfield voters who overwhelmingly spurned him in February’s Democratic presidential primary, Sen. Barack Obama told a crowd in Appalachian Virginia on Tuesday that coal — crucial to the economy here — is key to America’s future.

Tuesday saw the Republican National Convention back on track with President, former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson and Independent Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman speaking on behalf of “Country First.” President Bush was seen through a taped message from the White House.

ST. PAUL, Minn. — President Bush hailed John McCain on Tuesday night as a man “ready to lead this nation” and a courageous candidate who risked his White House ambitions to support an unpopular Iraq war. Republicans defended vice presidential running mate Sarah Palin in the face of fresh controversy.

Mark Warner will not “slash and burn’’ Republicans tonight, but will offer his version of what he calls Virginia’s bipartisan successes and a ringing endorsement of Barack Obama’s presidential candidacy.

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama yesterday brushed aside claims that he’s too liberal to win in Virginia and suggested that his race will play only a minor role in his bid to capture the pivotal swing state.

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama defended his foreign policy experience yesterday in an outdoor town hall meeting at John Tyler Community College in Chester.

Once a candidate behind in the polls and fumbling in the dark for the switch, John McCain seems to have found the light in California.