Watch the video, and head over to the Obama campaign blog for the full text of remarks.

Warner, who is running for Senate, carried the rural area for the Democrats when he ran for governor in 2001. And Warner persuaded CGI and Northrop Grumman Inc. in 2005 to locate in the coal-mining region.

The two companies moved to the region as a less expensive way to do business without sending jobs overseas. Amid the rolling farmland, Northrop Grumman operates a call center and backup data center for Virginia's state government across from Canada's CGI Group center, which employs software developers, analysts and consultants.

The text of McCain's call for deregulating health insurance companies follows:

"Opening up the health insurance market to more vigorous nationwide competition, as we have done over the last decade in banking, would provide more choices of innovative products less burdened by the worst excesses of state-based regulation." - John McCain

Below are excerpts from the press conference:

Judy Feder, Democratic nominee for US Representative from Virginia's 10th Congressional District:

"We're here today, all of us, to repudiate Senator McCain's call to deregulate the health insurance companies. Senator McCain wrote in this month's issue of an insurance magazine that we should deregulate the insurance companies--and I quote--'as we have done over the last decade in banking.' In other words, John McCain wants to run the health care industry just like they've been running Wall Street--straight into the ground...After risking the American people's retirement and jeopardizing the economic security of our country, now they want Americans to suffer the same uncertainty about their health care...I'm here today, as someone who has spent my life trying to get everybody affordable health care and fix our broken system, and I'm here to say to John McCain: No way.   It's a risk we can't afford."

Barbara Favola, Vice Chair of the Arlington County Board and a member of Virginia's State Health Board:

"The election before us is about choices.  As we stand before John McCain's campaign headquarters and one of his homes, one of his many homes, John McCain's risky health care plan won't do a whole lot to help the people I just talked about...working families need someone who will stand up for them, someone who will tell the oil lobbyists, the insurance companies, and other special interest groups that the average American must come first. Can we trust John McCain to deliver that message? No. On the other hand Barack Obama understands the struggles of working class families. He understands that access to health care is a basic necessity of life and the pursuit of happiness and the American dream really don't happen until these basic necessities are taken care of.  Barack Obama has a package that respects American families that tells them they are valued and helps them provide for their children and their future."

Senator Hillary Clinton (D-New York) energized the Pepsi Center with an incredible speech and was introduced by daughter, Chelsea. Senator Clinton declared: "No way. No how. No McCain."

Democratic Senatorial candidate and former Governor Mark Warner (D-Virginia) delivered a great keynote address.

Governor Brian Schweitzer (D-Montana) fired up the room and rattled off an unforgettable line about drilling in all of John McCain's many, many backyards, including the ones he cannot remember.

Watch more videos from the Democratic National Convention here and at 3pm Mountain, catch live streaming video in the most crystal-clear HD that this blogger has ever seen on the tubes.

And I believe from the bottom of my heart with the right vision, the right leadership, and the energy and creativity of the American people, there is no nation that we can’t out-hustle or out-compete, and no American need be left out or left behind.

Yes, the race for the future is on, and it won’t be won if only some Americans are in the running. It won’t be won with yesterday’s ideas and yesterday’s divisions. And it won’t be won with a president who is stuck in the past. We need a president who understands the world today, the future we seek and the change we need. We need Barack Obama as the next President of the United States.

Now, I have a unique perspective on this race for the future. Like many of you, I was the first in my family to graduate from college. It was made possible by supportive parents, good public schools, and since my folks didn’t have the resources, thank goodness for the student loan program. After I graduated law school, it didn’t take long to realize that America really wouldn’t miss me as a lawyer.

So I started a business. My first company failed in six weeks. My next one was much more successful. It failed in six months. And then a buddy of mine told me that there was this new idea—this thing called “car telephones”—“cell phones.”

Friends told me, “Warner, get a real job. No one’s going to want a phone in their car.” But I saw a different future. And with luck and a lot of hard work, I got in on the ground floor of the cell phone industry.

There’s only one country in the world where I could have received that education. Where I could have been given not just one chance, or two, but three, and where I could have succeeded—and that’s this country: the United States of America.

At our best, it’s not your lineage or last name that matters. It’s not where you come from that counts, it’s where you want to go. In America, everyone should get a fair shot. Barack Obama understands this, because he’s lived it. And Barack Obama is running to restore that fair shot for every American.

When we look around today, we see that for too many Americans that fair shot is becoming more of a long shot. How many kids have the grades to go to college, but not the money? How many families thought their home would always be their safest investment? How many of our soldiers come back from their second or third tour of duty, wondering if the education and health care benefits they were promised will actually be there? Two wars, a warming planet, an energy policy that says let’s borrow money from China to buy oil from countries that don’t like us. How many people look at these things and wonder what the future holds for them?

Their children? Their country? How many? In George Bush and John McCain’s America, far too many.

Let’s be fair, some of these challenges were inevitable. But all of them are more severe, more immediate and more threatening, because of the misguided policies and outdated thinking of this administration.

People always ask me, “What’s my biggest criticism of President Bush?” I’m sure you all have your own. Here’s mine—it’s not just the policy differences, it’s the fact that this president never tapped into our greatest resource: the character and resolve of the American people. He never asked us to step up.

Think about it: after September 11th, if there was a call from the president to get us off foreign oil to stop funding the very terrorists who had just attacked us, every American would have said, “how can I do my part?” This administration failed to believe in what we can achieve as a nation, when all of us work together.

John McCain promises more of the same—a plan that would explode the deficit that will be passed on to our kids. No real strategy to invest in our crumbling infrastructure. And he would continue spending $10 billion a month in Iraq.

I don’t know about you, but that’s just not right. That’s four more years that we just can’t afford.

Barack Obama has a different vision—and a different plan. Right now, at this critical moment in our history, we have one shot to get it right. And the status quo just won’t cut it.

Now let me tell you, if you think there’ve been dramatic changes in the world and technology over the last 10 years, you ain’t seen nothing yet. The race is on, and if you watched the Olympics, you know China’s going for the gold.

You know, America has never been afraid of the future, and we shouldn’t start now. If we choose the right path, every one of these challenges is also an opportunity. Look at energy: if we actually got ourselves off foreign oil, we can make our country safer. We’ll start to solve global warming, and with the right policies, within 24 months, we’ll be building 100 mile-per-gallon plug-in hybrid vehicles right here, with American technology and with American workers.

Look at health care: if we bring down costs and cover everyone, not only will America be healthier, we’ll be more competitive in the global economy. Just think about this: in six months we will have an administration that actually believes in science, and then we can again lead the world in life-saving and life-changing cures.

Look at education: if we recruit an army of new teachers and actually give our schools the resources to meet our highest standards, not only will every child in America get a fair shot, the American economy will get a shot in the arm. Whether they want to be an engineer or an electrician, every kid will be trained for the jobs of the 21st century.

Or look at America’s standing in the world: if we rebuild our military and rebuild our alliances, we can rally the world to defeat terrorism and restore America’s leadership. Which candidate understands these opportunities, and which candidate knows we don’t have another four years to waste? Barack Obama.

And Barack Obama knows this too: we need leaders who see our common ground as sacred ground. We need leaders who will appeal to us not as Republicans or Democrats, but first and foremost as Americans.

You know, I spent 20 years in business. If you ran a company whose only strategy was to tear down the competition, it wouldn’t last long. So why is this wisdom so hard to find in Washington? I know we’re at the Democratic convention, but if an idea works, it really doesn’t matter if it has an “R” or a “D” next to it.

Because this election isn’t about liberal vs. conservative. It’s not about left vs. right. It’s about the future vs. the past. In this election, at this moment, in our history, we know what the problems are. We know that at this critical juncture we have only one shot to get it right. And we know that these new times demand new thinking.

We believe in success. We believe that everyone should have an opportunity to get ahead, and with success comes a responsibility to make sure others can follow. I think we are blessed to be Americans. But with that blessing comes an obligation to our neighbors and our common good.

So you give every child the tools they need to succeed. That means quality schools, access to health care, safe neighborhoods. Not just because it’s the right thing to do, of course it is; but because if those kids do better, we all do better. You can be soft-hearted or hard-headed—both are going to lead you to the same place. We’re all in this together. That’s what this party believes. That’s what this nation believes. That’s what Barack Obama and Joe Biden believe.

And we can do it, sure we can. When I became governor, this is what Virginia faced: a massive budget shortfall, an economy that wasn’t moving, gridlock in the capital. Sound familiar? So what did we do? Working together, a Democratic governor, with a two-to-one Republican legislature, and a whole lot of good folks who didn’t see themselves as either Democrats or Republicans but as Virginians, we closed the budget gap, and Virginia was named the best managed state in the nation.

We made record investments in education and in job training. We got 98 percent of our eligible kids enrolled in our children’s health care program. We delivered broadband to the most remote areas of our state; because, if you can send a job to Bangalore, India, you sure as heck can send one to Danville, Virginia and Flint, Michigan and Scranton, Pennsylvania and Peoria, Illinois. In a global economy, you shouldn’t have to leave your home town to find a world-class job.

Let me tell you about a place called Lebanon—Lebanon, Virginia. Lebanon is in the coalfields of southwest Virginia, and everyone in that whole town could fit right here on the convention floor. Lebanon is like many small towns in America. It has seen the industries that sustained it downsized, outsourced, or shut down. Now, some folks look at towns like Lebanon and say, “Tough luck. In the global economy, you’ve lost.”

But we believed that we shouldn’t—and couldn’t—give up on our small towns and expect the rest of the state to prosper. And that’s what brought me, towards the end of my term, to the high school gym in Lebanon to announce that we were going to bring over 300 high-tech jobs, jobs that paid twice the county average.

One student told a reporter from The Washington Post that before this, he always thought he’d have to move away to get a good job and raise a family. I just heard from this young man, Michael Kisor. Today, he is a junior at Virginia Tech. His older brother just moved back home to Lebanon because there was an information-technology job open for him, that was just too good to pass up.

That’s a story worth rewriting all across America. With the right leadership, we can once again achieve a standard of living that is improved—and not diminished—in each generation. We can once again make America a beacon for science and technology and discovery.

Ladies and gentlemen, we know how to do it. The American people are ready. And Barack Obama and Joe Biden will get it done.

As governor of Virginia, it was humbling to occupy a position that was once held by Thomas Jefferson. Almost as daunting as delivering the keynote speech four years after Barack Obama or speaking before Hillary Clinton.

Towards the end of his life, Thomas Jefferson, the founder of our party, wrote one of his frequent letters to his old rival, John Adams. He complained about the aches of getting old, but what was on his mind was what life would be like for the next generation of Americans. As Jefferson was ready to go to sleep, he closed his letter by writing, “I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past.”

Jefferson got it right at the dawn of the 19th century, and it’s our challenge to get it right at the dawn of the 21st. This race is all about the future. That’s why we must elect Barack Obama as our next president. Because the race for the future will be won when old partisanship gives way to new ideas, when we put solutions over stalemates, and when hope replaces fear.

Tonight, looking out at all of you and with a deep faith in the character and resolve of the American people, I am more confident than ever that we will win that race and make the future ours.

Thank you. God bless you, and God bless the United States of America.

(Our bus driver Glen feeds the meter)

We stopped in Pittsburgh last night for a grassroots fundraiser at The Church Brew Works, a brewpub built into an old Catholic church. If you're a fan of architecture and good beer (and I am of both), it's worth a trip to Pittsburgh to see it. Around 400 people came out to see Kal Penn and the Governor speak. Sean Casey, the owner, figured we hadn't eaten after being on the bus all day and gave us a couple of pizzas (which proved to be just as good this morning as they were last night).

We left Pittsburgh at 8am and we're 50 miles outside Harrisburg as I write this, watching an Olympic soccer game. We've seen a lot of randomness on the road -- a burning car (everyone was fine), a military convoy complete with tanks, and this giant fiberglass cow, which our advance guy Chad was proud to pose in front of.

More after Harrisburg, then it's back to DC before Virginia tomorrow.

Across the board, people are impressed with Mark Warner's ability to reach across the aisle and work with Republicans, Democrats, and Independents. Known for bringing people together, the former Virginia Governor’s career encompasses the Convention’s theme of Americans coming together for change.

One of Warner’s hometown papers, the Roanoke Times, explains his ability to broaden the Democratic base. Warner “was elected governor in 2001 partly by reaching beyond traditional Democratic constituencies and making inroads in rural areas. He forged working coalitions with Republicans who controlled the General Assembly and won support for a 2004 tax increase that he deemed essential to shoring up the state's finances.”

Chat away...

I've gotten multiple reports from politicos in Maryland and Virginia about the Trust Huckabee robo-calls. The third-party group has launched their usual automated calls going after Huck's rivals, but with a twist: they haven't take Mitt out of their cross-hairs.

Huckabee has disavowed the group's efforts, but took a contribution from their parent organization last quarter.
[...]
The group offers even more oppo on the dreaded Romney, hitting the former rival on abortion, taxes, immigration and guns.

Senator Jim Webb's office provided details last September:

* Establishes an independent, bipartisan eight-member Commission on Wartime Contracting to study federal agency contracting for logistics support, reconstruction, and security functions in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Commission will issue interim and final reports on its findings and recommendations, including an evaluation of which functions are inherently governmental and which functions are appropriate for performance by contractors in a contingency operation, especially whether providing security in an areas of combat operations is inherently governmental.

* Requires an assessment of the extent of waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement of wartime contracts, and the extent to which those responsible have been held accountable. The Commission will have the authority to refer to the Department of Justice any violation or potential violation of law it identifies.

* Expands the jurisdiction of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR) and a newly-created Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) beyond reconstruction to include security contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan. It also requires an expanded series of audits of wartime contracts by the inspectors general of the Department of Defense and other executive agencies.

Update: It turns out that the commission championed by Senators Webb and McCaskill was one of four items listed on a signing statement issued by President Bush.

Senator Webb will be speaking on the Senate floor about the signing statement shortly.

Stay tuned.

That's why the strapped-for-cash NRCC has thrown in more than one-fifth of their campaign account into this normally safe Republican-leaning district that Bush won with over 60-percent of the vote. Doing so means they're diverting their money into playing defense in the reddest of red areas before the election year even officially begins.

So no matter what happens, we've already "won."

But we still need to elect Robin Weirauch to Congress, so if you're in Ohio, vote. And then volunteer to bring others to the polls. This election could come down to a handful of votes, and you can make a difference in this race.

DailyKos has the latest numbers and this could go either way, with the numbers tight and differing from poll to poll.

It's also not the only special election today. Over in VA-01, Governor Warner told a huge crowd yesterday that Philip Forgit would shock the political conventional wisdom. Forgit's an Iraq War veteran and Bronze Star recipient and nationally-recognized teacher. He also needs your help, if you're in the area.

Vote.

But the more serious allegation was that Wade violated federal election law by funneling contributions to these candidates. Finally, today, the FEC announced that Mitchell Wade and MZM, the company involved, agreed to pay a million dollar fine, "the second largest penalty ever paid in the 32-year history of the FEC."

As TPM Muckraker adds, "the settlement was a result of a complaint from watchdog Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington." And here's more from TPM Muckraker:

The fine is for reimbursing employees at his firm MZM for $78,000 in contributions they made to Rep. Virgil Goode (R-VA) and ex-Rep. Katharine Harris (R-FL). Another MZM exec, Richard Berglund, got hit with a $42,000 fine. Both of them have already pled guilty to criminal charges for the scheme. Berglund was sentenced earlier this year to a year of probation and $5,000 in fines. Wade continues to cooperate with the government in its ongoing investigation of his bribery activities, recently testifying against fellow contractor Brent Wilkes at his trial.

State parties will publish their delegate selection rules and clearly explain how to participate in the summer of 2007.

Virginia Democratic Party
1710 E. Franklin Street, 2nd Floor
Richmond, VA 23223
804-644-1966
804-343-3642 (fax)

District-Level Delegates: 54
At-Large Delegates: 18
Pledged Party Leader & Elected Official (PLEO) Delegates: 11
Unpledged Delegates: 20
TOTAL Number of Delegates: 103

Alternates: 14

TOTAL DELEGATION SIZE: 117

System type: Primary

State convention page: Available
State plan: Plan Available (PDF)
State filing form: Not available online. Please contact the state party to receive a copy.

** This information is prepared by the DNC's Office of Party Affairs and Delegate Selection and may be subject to change. For more information, please call 202-863-8000.

McCain refused to back down from his comments, however, telling NBC's Today Show that there are "many signs of success...neighborhoods in Baghdad that are largely certainly much more secure," and telling ABC's Good Morning America that "you look at facts on the ground...there are neighborhoods that are calm." McCain's sprinkling of pixie dust in response to ABC came on a question about whether he has "to be looking at Iraq through rose-colored glasses to see progress" when one hundred people have been killed in "just the last day, [in] the same town the president used last year as an example of freedom taking hold." [NBC Today, 3/28/07; ABC's Good Morning America, 3/28/07]

"John McCain seems to think that walking through Baghdad is as easy as his march away from campaign finance reform and his image as a so-called 'maverick,'" said Democratic National Committee spokesman Luis Miranda. "With his rhetoric coming under fire, McCain had better hope the Double Talk Express got the armor that our troops have been forced to do without. Misrepresenting the facts on the ground in Iraq might be the latest tactic for McCain's do-anything-to-win campaign, but after hearing the same thing from the Bush Administration for four years, the American people would no doubt prefer a new direction."

After Missing Congress' Three Most Crucial Iraq War Votes, McCain Finally Showed Up for the Fourth. Despite missing first three most crucial Iraq war votes and several others this Congressional session, Senator McCain decided to be present on the Senate floor and cast a vote on what he considers to be the most important issue-Iraq. McCain has already missed 37 votes over all (31.9%) during the current Congress. [Chicago Tribune, 3/16/07; Washington Post, 3/26/07; Washington Post Congressional Database]

McCain: "You and I could walk through those neighborhoods today". On Bill Bennet's radio show on Monday, Bennet asked McCain if he could give "one single thing" that McCain finds "so encouraging" in Iraq. McCain responded, "There are neighborhoods in Baghdad where you and I could walk through those neighborhoods today." [Bill Bennett's Morning in America, 3/26/07]

"What part of Neverland" is Senator McCain Talking About? CNN's Wolf Blitzer asked Baghdad Correspondent Michael Ware: "Michael, when Senator McCain says there are at least some areas of Baghdad where people can walk around and -- whether it's General Petraeus, the U.S. military commander, or others, are there at least some areas where you could emerge outside of the green zone, the international zone, where people can go out -- go to a coffee shop, go to a restaurant and simply take a stroll?" Ware's answer directly from Baghdad: "I can answer this very quickly, Wolf. No. No way on earth can a westerner, particularly an American, stroll any street of this capital of more than five million people. If al Qaeda doesn't get wind of you or if one of the Sunni insurgent groups doesnt descend upon you or if someone doesn't tip off a Shitte militia, then the nearest criminal gang is going to see dollar signs and scoop you up. You barely would last 20 minutes out there. I don't know what part of Neverland Senator McCain is talking about when he says we can go strolling in Baghdad." [CNN, 3/27/07]