Obama Brings "Middle Class'' Tour to Nation's Richest County
President Obama brings his "middle class tax relief'' tour Thursday to Leesburg, VA., -- which sits in the richest county in the country.
Loudon County's official web site notes its median income of $119,540 is "#1 ranked in the USA.'' This sleepy dairy farmland turned affluent Washington exurb and host to major government contractors is also one of the nation's fastest growing. Unemployment is a mere 3.9 percent.
So it's a safe bet that Obama's to raise taxes on wealthy households to ease the burden on middle-class families would actually hike taxes for many Loudon County households. The president may not tweak his us vs. them message, however, because virtually everyone thinks of themselves as middle-class, noted Virginia Tech professor Bob Denton.
"Frankly, even those who make over $250,000, especially in and around DC, don't actually view themselves as rich, much less the super rich,'' he said. "The relative wealth of the neighborhood will get little notice nationally unless the media confronts or asks about the irony.''
Romney's campaign is echoing Obama's phony lingo and trying to counter his message with a "strengthening the middle class'' event in Loudon, which just happens to be the county where he made his debut visit to Virginia as the presumptive nominee.
Bottom line: the presidential campaign trail goes where the votes are, not necessarily where the middle class is living. Candidates consistently shun the truly-suffering urban and rural areas for the voter-rich suburbs. Loudon, along with nearby Fairfax and Prince William counties, will largely determine who wins Virginia. And as Virginia goes...
Obama beat Republican John McCain in Loudon by about 11,000 votes, helping him to become the first Democrat to win Old Dominion since 1964. Considering the president's difficulties connecting with blue-collar workers, he needs college-educated and wealthy Loudon County more than ever.
Loudon County's official web site notes its median income of $119,540 is "#1 ranked in the USA.'' This sleepy dairy farmland turned affluent Washington exurb and host to major government contractors is also one of the nation's fastest growing. Unemployment is a mere 3.9 percent.
So it's a safe bet that Obama's to raise taxes on wealthy households to ease the burden on middle-class families would actually hike taxes for many Loudon County households. The president may not tweak his us vs. them message, however, because virtually everyone thinks of themselves as middle-class, noted Virginia Tech professor Bob Denton.
"Frankly, even those who make over $250,000, especially in and around DC, don't actually view themselves as rich, much less the super rich,'' he said. "The relative wealth of the neighborhood will get little notice nationally unless the media confronts or asks about the irony.''
Romney's campaign is echoing Obama's phony lingo and trying to counter his message with a "strengthening the middle class'' event in Loudon, which just happens to be the county where he made his debut visit to Virginia as the presumptive nominee.
Bottom line: the presidential campaign trail goes where the votes are, not necessarily where the middle class is living. Candidates consistently shun the truly-suffering urban and rural areas for the voter-rich suburbs. Loudon, along with nearby Fairfax and Prince William counties, will largely determine who wins Virginia. And as Virginia goes...
Obama beat Republican John McCain in Loudon by about 11,000 votes, helping him to become the first Democrat to win Old Dominion since 1964. Considering the president's difficulties connecting with blue-collar workers, he needs college-educated and wealthy Loudon County more than ever.
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