"The race for U.S. Senate has been a disappointment--long on mudslinging, short on issue discussion.

From this murky context Virginians must make a choice.

They will be choosing among GOP incumbent Sen. George F. Allen; Democrat Jim Webb; and Independent Green Gail Parker. The real fight is between Mr. Webb and Mr. Allen, who are virtually tied at the polls at this writing.

Voters would have been better served had there never been a campaign. If candidates had issued position papers, posted them on the Web and sent them to the media, we could have made up our minds without a barrage of damaging, distracting and downright distasteful accusations.

Finger-pointing has been offensively personal. And in many ways it also has been largely irrelevant - or should have been. Who said what to whom and why 25 years ago has little bearing on many of the issues Virginia and America face today.

Yes, character is important. But it’s part of a larger package, a package that should include the candidate’s past performance and his stand on current issues.

This year’s most important issue is - as it has been since Sept. 11, 2001 - national security.

We are engaged in a long-term battle with enemies who want to destroy us, our way of life and our pursuit of individual freedom. We are engaged in a battle for the preservation of our country and for the safety of our children.

To weaken would be fatal.

We must persevere, we must stand firm, we must be strong.

On that supreme issue, George Allen is the best person to represent Virginia in the U.S. Senate. He is unlikely to fold under pressure to flee our responsibilities in Iraq and elsewhere.

Naturally, we dislike the mudslinging that has been engaged in by his campaign and his partisans. Nor can we admire Mr. Allen for the belittling remarks he has made to others on the campaign trail, for the verbal gaffes that if nothing else have demonstrated that he is not as good a politician as he thinks he is.

He has paid the price for that hubris and those mistakes by forfeiting whatever status he once might have held as a potential presidential contender.

Still, Virginians this week are voting for a senator, not a president. And of the three candidates, George Allen is the most likely to keep America strong and safe.

And if we can’t keep America strong and safe, then we can’t keep our freedoms, or democracy or our opportunity to vote in even disappointing elections in the future.

Similarly, we believe Rep. Virgil Goode is better qualified to safeguard the nation. The incumbent from the 5th District de-serves re-election.

Mr. Goode has sound opinions on national defense. What’s more, he is someone to admire. He is principled, independent, unaffected, truly his own man. He stands his ground. He is a Republican who is unafraid to disagree even with the president.

He is engaged on the issues. He understands the complex repercussions of issues such as trade and globalization all the way from the small mom-and-pop shop in Martinsville to the call centers of India or the factories of Mexico, where so many jobs [have] gone.

Democratic candidate Al Weed and Joe Oddo of the Independent Greens have done much to help define the issues and to enliven debate. Mudslinging has been minimal. For that we are grateful.

We appreciate all the candidates who put themselves on the line for the rough-and-tumble battle of politics.

We endorse George Allen and Virgil Goode for re-election." (Editorial, The Daily Progress, November 5, 2006)