A house in Martinsville, Indiana.

Leroy C. McLaughlin, a 78-year old African-American Baptist minister and Army veteran, came home to find his Obama yard sign taken down and replaced with a confederate flag.

“I feel like this is somebody with a lot of hatred in their heart,” he said. “It’s our job to help the guy try to do better in life.”

The mere notion that Barack Obama is even competitive in Virginia is a huge step forward. And those cynics who trumpet the meme that Obama’s message of “change” is simply a catch-word with no meaning behind it need to understand what his candidacy really means to a group of people that previously had no voice.

Hat Tip:  Andrew Sullivan