Live-blogging from Northern Virginia: It's Obama time!

I paid a visit to northern Virginia today. I rode by train past forests in brilliant shades of yellow, orange, and red.

Having arrived at a station, I emerged from the darkness of the metro. At the top of the escalator a woman sang out:

It's O-bama time! It's O-bama time!

Near metro stations, groups of Obama campaigners -- many students, mothers with kids --handed out leaflets. This election is about giving this generation a chance.

On street corner after corner people held sings, many cars honked.

Northern Virginia was always going to be Obama country, but the enthusiasm today was infectious. Virginia, of course, is a swing state. Obama has held a small lead in the polls in this state which Bush won in 2004.

A number of young women could be seen making their way around the town with a blue Obama sign in tow.

In the afternoon I only saw one long line-up, outside a high school in an suburb of Fairfax County. Around 6 pm a polling station in Arlington had no line up at all.