"With Election Day closing in, the candidates for Virginia’s 5th District congressional seat sparred Tuesday evening during a radio program broadcast from Charlottesville.

During the hour-long joint appearance, which aired on WVTF’s Evening Edition, the three candidates tackled issues ranging from the Iraq war to tax reform.

In response to a question from Daily Progress political reporter Bob Gibson, who moderated the program, the candidates also weighed in on a proposed Constitutional amendment to define marriage in Virginia, which will appear Nov. 7 on ballots statewide.

Incumbent Rep. Virgil H. Goode Jr., R-Rocky Mount, voiced support for the measure.

“On the amendment that defines marriage as between one man and one woman, I will vote yes,” he said.

His two opponents, Nelson County Democrat Al Weed and Independent Green Joe Oddo, said they will vote no.

“It’s not the role of government to take a religious point of view and insert it into a governing document,” Weed said.

The candidates also disagreed when asked if, should the vote occur today, they would vote to invade Iraq.

Oddo said he never believed that there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, and would not have voted for invasion.

Goode, a five-term incumbent who voted to authorize the war, stood by his decision.

“If Saddam Hussein was still in power, with the background that he had, I would vote the same,” he said.

Weed, who spent 42 years in the Army and has a son serving in Iraq, said he opposed the invasion when it occurred and hasn’t changed his mind.

Goode and Weed, who were opponents in the previous 5th District election, also disagreed on the best measures for fighting terrorism.

“We have to be ever-vigilant,” Goode said, adding that he supports tightening border security and improving airline safety measures.

Weed said he believes strictly defensive strategies don’t work, and advocated further exploration of the roots of anti-American extremism.

“We need to look at the motivation that gets these young men, and some women, to strap explosives around their middle and blow themselves up,” Weed said.

The candidates also weighed in on a proposal to do away with the federal income tax, replacing it with a sales tax of approximately 23.5 percent.

Goode, who is a co-sponsor of a bill that would implement the so-called “fair tax,” said he believes the measure is a good one.

“The income tax is too tedious,” he said, adding that the sales tax would be more “simple and fair.”

Oddo agreed.

“”We can eliminate the IRS,” he said. The tax code only benefits the rich.”

Weed, however, took a more cautious approach, saying he was interested in the proposal, but that “if there’s anything safe in this country, it’s to rail against the IRS.”

The candidates will meet again tonight at a debate at Hampden-Sydney College." (Rob Seal, The Daily Progress, November 1, 2006)