George,

I would be honored to have Meredith Richards endorse me, just as I would any prominent Democrat. There are many folks who admire her and could still be favorably influenced by such an endorsement. Nevertheless, a campaign is built one block at a time. As it develops each subsequent endorsement contributes less. The challenge for a savvy politician is to jump in early so she gets to help direct how the campaign develops, thus using her quickly waning knowledge of the political reality of the 5th District most effectively.

As much as I'd like to think this means we have a clear shot at Virgil, things could change. So far we have concentrated on gathering support from likely convention delegates next May and are making excellent progress. I am hopeful that by the first of the year I will be able to direct my energies solely towards the campaign to defeat Mr. Goode.

I have publicly said that Dr. Dean is my choice at this point, and that I could run well with him in the 5th. I could, however, run comfortably with any one of the Democratic front-runners and trust the nation's Democrats to help us end up with the best candidate to beat George Bush.

Al Weed (electronic mail, November 16, 2003)