From: The Farmville Herald on December 9th, 2010

"The sky's the limit for him.

"He's universally respected.

"If he wants to stay in politics, he's the kind of person you want in politics.

"He's principled.

"He's earnest.

"He's polite.

"He's all of those things.

"He can come up to Fairfax, and he'll probably win forever."

And he's Tom Perriello.

No, the extremely high praise for Rep. Perriello quoted above is not from a campaign press release, a family member, friend, or Democratic Party leader.

To the contrary, those glowing words were spoken by former Republican Congressman Tom Davis, of Fairfax, during a post-election interview with The Washington Post.

That was a Republican telling the truth about Tom Perriello.

As Rep. Perriello prepares to leave office and make way for Robert Hurt to represent the Fifth District, it's a good time to leave the partisan fusillades behind and acknowledge the truth that a good man represented the Fifth District for the past two years.

He's a gifted and principled politician, a rarity the country can't afford to lose.

Unbowed in defeat, 5th District Rep. Tom Perriello promised in his concession speech last week to "continue to find ways to serve my community and my country."

We fervently hope he will and have every reason to expect it. Perriello lost at the polls Tuesday, but in his single term in the House, he showed the character the country needs in its leaders, and so rarely gets.

Perriello was courageous in casting controversial votes he believed would be in the long-term interests of ordinary Americans, even when the benefits were likely to be years in coming.

He had to know that his principled stands left him vulnerable to attack by political foes and well-heeled special interests out to protect their stakes in the status quo. Yet he stuck to his principles, in Congress and on the campaign trail.

Perriello took political risks to do what he was convinced was right for the people he represented -- a quality voters say they want, but are not inclined to reward. It cost him his seat, but secured his reputation as a man of integrity and grit, willing to elevate the public good over personal ambitions.

Virtues so rare in politics deserve to be rewarded.

In Perriello's case, Republican stalwart and former Rep. Tom Davis thinks they will be. Davis, now retired from his Northern Virginia House seat and safely removed from the demands of party solidarity, had this to say about the defeated 5th District Democrat:

by Christopher Hayes, The Nation, November 3, 2010

In the wake of Perriello's loss, it's tempting to conclude that conviction politics simply doesn't work. But the fate of Perriello's fellow Virginia freshman Democrat Glenn Nye suggests it's not so simple. Nye also beat a Republican incumbent in 2008, though in a district Obama won—rather than lost—by a narrow margin. But he took the opposite tack from Perriello, distancing himself from the national party and the president almost immediately, voting against cap and trade, healthcare reform, patient protection and extending unemployment. Fat lot of good it did him. He lost his race by seven more points than Perriello did.

Strange as it is to say, the lesson of election night, in Virginia and nationally, may be that Congress members' voting records don't matter all that much.

If that's the case, you might as well vote for what you think is right. The point of being in Congress isn't to get re-elected; it's to make the country better while you're there—something that seems to have been lost on so many Democrats who took the easy way out. On election night, Perriello told his supporters that his father had told him when he got into politics, "Judgment Day is more important than election day. It's more important to do what's right than what's easy.... I'm proud of what we've done and what we've accomplished."

November 2, 2010--Ivy, VA--Rep. Tom Perriello released the following statement:

"I congratulate Senator Hurt and, along with my team, will do everything we can to ensure a smooth transition. It has been a tremendous honor to serve the people of the 5th district and I am so proud of the work we've done. Real change is not something that is measured in a year or two; I believe that our actions will ripple out for years to come. The best kind of politics is one that puts a sense of problem-solving ahead of political points, and I'm proud to have tackled the tough problems of our community and nation. We faced the brink of a depression and turned that around into nine straight months of private-sector job growth. I'll continue to find ways to serve my community and my country with anyone from any party or organization who is serious about rebuilding the middle-class and the next great American decade."