George,

I've worked for and with Al Weed for close to three years now. I've never accepted a dime from him so you know that my opinion has no strings attached. I labor 24-7 because I hate the way this country is heading and I have chosen the Congressional race in which to put all my energy. I feel that Al is the greatest candidate that the 5th District has ever produced. He has a wide range of experience from Ivy League schooling and business and banking to years in the military and a tough life farming in Nelson County.

What I admire and respect most about Al is his vision. He is always absorbing far flung bits of information and creating wondrous new plans. Dan River University in Danville, the craft college in Martinsville, and the transference of tobacco farming to biofuel production are examples of what he has been working on. What I like most about him is his depth of caring about others. He is passionate about curing poverty, upholding freedom and reaffirming equality and justice for all, bringing the races together to work for a common goal, stopping the degradation of our environment, and establishing a national health care system.

Al endured an incredibly hard campaign season last year against a powerful incumbent. He suffered defeat and yet kept on working for progress in Virginia through Public Policy Virginia. He deserves the support of all people who wish to see Virginia continue to move toward a new dawn.

Diana Abbott (electronic mail, December 6, 2005)