Go to the Obama office for signs.

Perhaps the GOP supporters are better looking and more suitable for print? Needless to say, I believe the Patch offers opportunities for folks to post photos from a variety of events. If you are looking for a dictatorship I suggest you move to Cuba, Iran, China or Arlington. Read the fine print - it will save you from foaming at the mouth in the future and looking like a fool.

You're right. All the photos are of Romney supporters. But laughing to myself, because if Patch had taken a single photo of the 250 supporters inside, there'd be such an uproar from conservatives of bias!

I do find it telling, however, that Obama opens up a location with great "drive by" exposure (a marketing term folks) while Romney opened his McLean office on Elm Street - and dang if I can see it when I drive by.

This tells me Obama understands retail politics.

Also, telling, is the age of the supporters for Romney outside. This corroborates the demographic data which is skewed towards the older AND the fact that McLean is a GOP bastion.

There is a new 'silent majority' - this time towards dems. Thankfully!

The Patch platform allows and encourages users to upload their own photos. It's easy - all you have to do it click the button underneath the photos that says "Upload Photos and Vidoes." I took the photo of the campaign signs inside the new office and uploaded it with the article. I took pictures of the crowd inside, too, but I didn't think they turned out well, so I didn't use them. The photos of the Romney campaign were uploaded by a user. If you click on the pictures to enlarge the image, you'll notice they were taken by different photographers.

I just happened to take a walk up to Safeway last night around 6:30, and I thought maybe they had evacuated a nursing home, or maybe the plastic surgeon in the Magassey building was having a special on facelifts. There were all these old people milling around in front of Rite Aid and Safeway.

But seriously, I am disgusted by the attitudes of all of these retired people who sit in front of the TV watching vitriol and hate on Fox News Channel all day. It says a lot that they took it upon themselves to attempt to hijack the event. If you disagree with these nuts and cranks, you're a liberal and unpatriotic, and only their opinions matter anymore.

And to think, before I woke up and realized the two-party system is just a sham created by the people who control our economy and foreign policy, I used to vote exclusively republican. Now, I just wish we could dismantle both parties and take back control of our political discourse from the over-moneyed and corporations.

Totally agreed! 250 McLean residents are screaming in support -- 5 strange Romney protesters outside and they get all the photos. BRING BACK BOBBI...McLean Patch is a mess

Neil, I think you need to switch to decaf or change your meds. Lauren does a great job and is fair and unbiased in her reporting.

@McLean Homeowner - Ouch! Why such hate for older people in our community? Folks like myself - fabulous and young - would have loved to been there to support the GOP but we were too busy doing things like taking our kids to soccer practice and putting dinner on the table. Bigoted comments about the older generation have no business in this conversation - neither do comments like journalism bashing, anti-gay slurs, and racist comments - they are all wrong and revolting. If you represent the "progressive element" in McLean then shame on you! I want no part of that hate. Thank goodness I'm not your parent or grandparent! And, finally, I cherish every moment with my grandmother who is close to 100. In my household we appreciate the wisdom from the generations who came before us.

@mom2, uptight much?

It does sound like you've over-extended yourself, trying to be super soccer mom. Just because your day planner has little boxes for each 15 minute increment doesn't mean you need to fill every single box with an activity or task. Try leaving a few of those boxes empty, enjoy a little free time each day. It might help you empathize with others, rather than looking only for how it affects you.

I was simply being facetious, I stumbled upon an unusual sight at my neighborhood drug store, and thought it was both funny, and telling, at the same time. First, the average age was 70. Second, it was inappropriate for these people to attempt to take over an event because they don't believe "the other side" has a right to assemble unopposed.

If you don't like my 'hate' you should be consistent and feel the same way about the hate that the republican party has been pandering to and even fomenting.

Frankly, the democrats can be just as bad as republicans. However, right now, and for the last decade-plus, it is the republicans who have been the most destructive and corrosive. We can marginalize the democrats when they start acting out and behaving poorly. I don't like a lot of their policies, but they seem to be better at acting like mature adults.

There's a big difference between respecting the wisdom of previous generations and playing into their fears and prejudices. If you don't know what that means, keep voting blindly.

http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2008/09/28/franks_fingerprints_are_all_over_the_financial_fiasco/

Locally Involved - since you are all about "blaming others" and not taking personal responsibility (I see a trend with the progressives here...."What? Who? Me?") - I thought you might enjoy a little piece of financial history. (See above.) Enjoy the read that takes you back to the time of another failed one-term Democrat - Jimmy Carter. Oh, and my "favorite" banking expert - Rep. Barney Frank who rejects sound fiscal policy for political correctness. Those great years filled with American diplomatic posts being overun, radical Islamic terroristism, and a financial mess both here and abroad...wait? It's not 1979 its 2012! Silly me....

Like most leftist Democrats, you know nothing about which you speak. Clintoon left a National Debt to Bush of 5.8 trillion and something on the order of 130 billion in annual deficit.

umm, dogrules, your facts are way off.

Clinton left office with a SURPLUS. No deficit. I know, I know, dailykos claims otherwise.

Of course there was 5.8 trillion debt when he left office. It was 4.3 trillion 8 years earlier.

We can play this stupid game until the end of time. My guy is better than your guy, your guy sucks. blah blah blah blah.

You are part of the problem. You are all like little children bickering over your favorite cartoon character. And unfortunately, that is about all your intellects can seem to grasp, anyway. I believe all of this partisan crap is only aiding and abetting the people who really control our country, and if you're a diehard demorepubwhatever, you only have yourself to blame.

I don't know which group I hate more, liberals or conservatives. You're both just being manipulated by larger forces you don't and can't understand.

Please do not think for a second President Clinton was responsible for a great economy on his own. That's short sighted. It is a balance across the political spectrum...... This is a fun article on why Clinton and Obama are not political peers. Although Clinton was out of control in his personal life (Can't wait 'til Ms. Lewinsky has a book signing at Tysons Corner after her tell-all book comes out! Salacious!) he knew he wanted to be a two-term President and actually did work with the GOP on some important issues.

From the Investors.com

http://news.investors.com/080312-620735-obama-is-no-clinton-on-economic-policy.aspx

"But a review of the record shows that Obama's policies — enacted or proposed — bear little resemblance to those adopted by Clinton during his eight years.

@ Mom2 - you're making a tons of assumptions here. I never said that any president was solely responsible for anything.

Spending must rise during a recession - let alone a Great Recession. That is simply because someone has to do the spending which is what the Government does (for many reasons, such as stimulating the economy to temporary safety nets for those adversely affected by a recession). So that point is null.

Tax cuts and Tax increases have nothing to do with job creation. I cannot stress this enough. Tax increases or decreases have everything to do with deficits. So please, get off that note - it's tiresome.

Taxes had to increase under Reagan for the simple reason of a limited source of revenue due to the recession. Taxes dropped under Clinton because of an expanded source. Scale is critical.

Tax decreases during the Clinton era was simply due to the fact that we COULD because of the technology boom - more people working, more companies rising, therefore greater revenue from a larger pool to draw from.

Perhaps if the GOP put country before party - as the dems have done under GOP admins, we'd be further along. The two documented meetings the night Obama was elected and the second following shortly thereafter in which the GOP passionately stated that they would not play with the new admin is all the proof required. Huh, and no denouncement of those meetings from the GOP.

Again, country first. As McCain said.

More...when GLB passed I was at AIG. We were excited about expanded opportunities but with trepidation. It was felt at the time that business (and this was a business friendly decision by the dems) would not put themselves in a negative position. Wrong. All it fueled - in combination with Bush policies of looser credit and harder bankruptcy - was fuel a credit and housing boom.

So to Obama's argument that the law contributed (in combination with the Bush policies) to the financial crises is correct. Any of us in the finance and banking industry agree with that statement. The law did allow for a winner takes all, anything goes environment. Predator lending, poor consumer decisions, etc. which the world followed suit, let to the devastating dislocation of our economy - and the world's.

Okay. So we can all blame Clinton. He wrecked the economy, it just took a long time for the actual implosion. It was only a coincidence that the market lost 40% of it's value practically overnight, right before Bush left office. Great, we've figured out which party sucks more than the other.

I just have one question. If the cause of the economic crash of 2008 was a piece of liberal legislation, passed right under the nose of speaker of the house, Newt Gingrich, why didn't George Bush do something spectacular and heroic to save us from that liberal bill of mass destruction? He had 8 years.

I'm sick of this "my guy is great, your guy wants to destroy america" vile vitriol. Partisanship is corrosive, destructive, and will not get us anywhere.

I hold out hope that when the children of the greatest generation finally die off, we'll have a much better informed and not-so-easily manipulated electorate, and us people under 50 can finally make this country great without all the belligerence and blind allegiance to privately owned political parties. The days of hostility and ignorance are numbered.

@McLean Homeowner - You're my hero! LOVE your comments. Just like to add that those of us that are "under 50" in heart are with you, too.

@Locally Involved -- yeah, I'm only playing the agism thing to play down to their level. I realize ignorance knows no age. Neither does reason.

Some day both parties will be a distant memory. I understand why the people in power use this divide and conquer strategy, pitting half the population against the other over silly 'issues', but I could never understand why seemingly educated people keep buying into it and getting worked up over things that really don't impact their lives. Like the whole gay marriage thing. It doesn't affect me in any way if two guys or two women want to play house and what not. That issue just shows how easy it is to manipulate people, and distort their reality to the point where they will insist that it affects their own marriage, or their religious or superstitious sensibilities.

Critics say lots of things. None of it is usually factual, accurate or even close to reality. The thing that really gets someone like me who considers himself an outside observer of the lunacy emanating from both partys' supporters, is that what Obama's HHS administrator did was actually in line with a core republican belief, that most decisions should be left for the states and not mandated by the federal government. HHS did not gut work requirements. The requirement still exists, but the federal government will not dictate how those requirements are instituted, instead it should be up to each state to work out the specific details. Unfortunately, if you're in Romney's camp, you like what the critics say, and if you're in the Obama camp, well, who cares, it's anti-Obama so just ignore it. We need more people who are not stuck watching one cable news network or another, or this country will continue the failures we have endured over the last decade.

As far as "tax hikes" -- There's a reason why the Republicans included a sunset provision in the tax CUT bill. Since the wingnuts don't seem to want to acknowledge Bush's two terms in office, I won't go into the reasons for the sunset provision, but suffice it to say that calling an expired tax cut a "hike" is disingenuous. And if you think making the wealthy pay medicare taxes like the rest of us is a bad thing, you really are biased.

As far as free trade, only conspiracy nuts discuss that. NAFTA, NAU, oh noz!

Chill out.

Ms. Murray - On 9/11 Radical Islamic terrorists "hijacked" commercial jetliners and and murdered thousands. On Oct 2, 2012 - McLean citizens leveraged their freedom of speech to share puposeful photos from a political event and posted photos within the rules of a blog. You ought to carefully chose your words as many of us lost loved ones on 9/11.

@mom2, oh jeez. Really?!? That is the most ridiculous attempt to use a tragedy to your political advantage. At least Bush used it to enrich his constituency and achieve long-standing neoconservative goals.

I actually find your attempt to use 9/11 offensive and disrespectful. I have a feeling the "many of us" you refer to doesn't include YOU in particular. I, on the other hand, was right in the middle of it all. My father was on the 22nd floor of the WTC Marriott, my sister was walking up the stairs from the Chambers St. station when the first plane hit, and I found out about the whole thing when Secret Service agents asked me to leave the rooftop smoking lounge of my office building overlooking the white house and world bank so they could set up their air defense equipment. My father watched the General Manager run back into the lobby of the marriott minutes before it was buried under tower two. My sister watched the whole thing from the roof of her office on Reade st.

You ought to choose your words carefully. Using a tragedy to 'win' an argument is petty and proves that you lack a valid argument. Just shut it down with something emotional, instead.

Yet another example of the intellectual and moral bankruptcy that pervades the republican constituency.

So, d/t 9/11 no one can use the word hijacked again? I'm sorry you lost someone. But, b4 you start counseling people about their lack of care in choosing words, you may want to read your own here, which appear quiet nasty. But, as you say, that is your right in the U.S., just as it my right. Practice what you preach.

Yes, let's get this story right...next time hopefully there will be someone taking real photos. What is happening to journalism?

@demdisaster. Ah.....hello, news flash. It was a JOKE.

Sounds likevery angry Republican with no sense of humor, doesn't it?