Tangled in a Webb. On the back Burner. It’s a bomber.

I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that it all goes back to the Redskins. I am from Fairfax County, after all.

See, the greater metropolitan D.C. area is football crazy. It was always kind of shocking to me when I moved to San Francisco in ‘97 – I literally didn’t see a single 49ers bumper sticker the entire time I lived there. Granted, I only lived there for nine months, but that’s another story.

So yeah, the ‘Skins. When I was a kid, the head coach of the Washington Redskins was a guy named Joe Gibbs. Yes, the same Joe Gibbs who was brought back twenty years later to re-coach the team, and the same Joe Gibbs who believes “that electing John McCain and Sarah Palin will spark a return to God’s Word and a spiritual revival that will bring our nation together”. That Joe Gibbs.

Anyway, he was the coach when I was a kid. But when I was a toddler, the Redskins had another coach by the name of George Allen.

Now, you may have heard this name before. However, George Herbert Allen, NFL coach, passed away eighteen years ago. His son, George Felix Allen, became a United States Senator in 2001.

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Like most Democrats, I was unpleasantly surprised by the results of the 2004 elections. If I hadn’t been over at my then-girlfriend’s house on our second-ever date, I would have been even more depressed than I already was. I made a vow that I would be a lot more active in the next major election, which I assumed would be in 2008.

Boy, was I wrong.

I still remember the 2006 midterm elections very clearly.  I mean, who can ever forget an image like this:

While I was delighted to see Senator Man on Dog cruise to flaming defeat (so to speak) that year, I didn’t have anything to do with it personally.  After all, you don’t get into game development for the money, and I had to pick my battles.  Maria Cantwell wasn’t in any danger of losing to “Mike!” McGavick.  Seattle is pretty safe.  So what could I do to actually follow through on my vow from 2004?

Well, as you know, I was born and raised in Virginia — a state that hasn’t gone blue since LBJ (although recent signs point to the end of that streak).  So when I realized that the Democrats actually had a chance to make significant gains in the Senate in 2006, and that I could help to annihilate George Allen’s presidential hopes in the process… I put my money where my mouth is.  I donated to Jim Webb’s campaign.

And you know the rest.  Yes, that’s right.  Because of me, the Senate switched to Democratic control two years ago.  You’re welcome.

Of course, it’s not all wine and roses.  Webb has certainly had his good moments, but nobody’s perfect.  The Democratic-controlled Congress has been a pretty massive disappointment to almost everyone in the last two years, caving to President Bush far more often than they should have.  Even progressive darling Russ Feingold seems to have taken crazy pills.

But things are different now.  Obama’s lead in the polls is looking insurmountable.  The Democrats are poised to make big gains in the Senate, and a couple dozen more House seats.  I learned in 2004 to not get my hopes up too much, but at some point you have to acknowledge the reality of what’s happening.  We’re going to have a Democratic president in January.  We’re going to control at least 55 Senate seats, which will render Lieberman irrelevant and allow for some progress, finally.

So I’m choosing to focus a bit more close to home.  As I mentioned earlier, I’m in the 7th Congressional District of Washington state.  My district is pretty safely blue.  But just across the lake to the east is the 8th Congressional District — which has been held by a Republican since its creation back in 1982.  It went for both Gore in 2000 and Kerry in 2004, but Dave Reichert has been outperforming its PVI in the last two elections.

We’ve heard a lot about hope and change in this election.  And while I do agree that Obama does occasionally make me feel hopeful, and while I believe that he’s going to change the way presidents do things, I’m saving a little hope that things are going to change in the 8th Congressional District.

That’s why I’m a strong supporter of Darcy Burner for Congress.  I was planning to donate to her campaign even before her house burned down back in July — she’s been one of the most exciting progressive voices in the country over the last few years, but she needs all the help she can get.

So we’ll see what happens.  I think we’re about ready for some good news.

And maybe, just maybe, on November 4, this is what we’ll hear:

It’s Obama.  It’s Obama.

(from Sadly, No)