Hi George,

I write to answer a queston posed on your site Monday, "Who has ever heard of Creigh Deeds before last week?"

The answer is "all Democrats who keep themselves informed on Virginia State politics, on which we vote this month and next ." They know Mr. Deeds is the accomplished leader of the Democratic caucus in the Virginia House of Delegates, with a fine progressive record ."

I have never met Mr. Deeds, as I have the candidates who live in this end of the sprawling new Senatorial district, but I hope that when he speaks in Charlottesville on Thursday night, along with Democratic Senatorial candidates we locals already know from previous elections, he gets an attentive hearing. We should not act like know-nothing one-issue provincial Republicans.

Paul Saunier (electronic mail, November 6, 2001).