It can be hard to find our way in a time when there’s so much shouting, when nasty, shallow tweets take the place of honest debate, and when scoring … - Ralph Northam

I wasn't there, Julie, and I certain can't speak for Delegate Tran, but I would tell you, one, the first thing I would say is this is why decisions such as this should be made by providers, physicians, and the mothers and the fathers that are involved. When we talk about third-trimester abortions, these are done with the consent of obviously the mother, with the consent of the physicians, more than one physician, by the way. And it's done in cases where there may be severe deformities, there may be a fetus that's non-viable. So in this particular example, if a mother is in labor, I can tell you exactly what would happen. The infant would be delivered. The infant would be kept comfortable. The infant would be resuscitated if that's what the mother and the family desired, and then a discussion would ensue between the physicians and the mother. So I think this was really blown out of proportion. But again, we want the government not to be involved in these kinds of decisions. We want the decisions to be made by the mothers and the providers and this is why, Julie, that legislators, most of whom are men by the way, shouldn't be telling a woman what she should and shouldn't be doing with her body. His spokesman later released a statement saying "No woman seeks a third trimester abortion except in the case of tragic or difficult circumstances, such as a nonviable pregnancy or in the event of severe fetal abnormalities, and the governor’s comments were limited to the actions physicians would take in the event that a woman in those circumstances went into labor.

The path to progress is marked by honest give and take among people who truly want to make life better for those around them.

As I got older and took various jobs on the water, working on a deep sea fishing boat and as the captain of a ferry to Tangier Island, I came to trust that compass to guide me when the way ahead was not clear. My dad’s advice stayed with me when I reached the Virginia Military Institute and was given a different kind of compass, in the simple words of the VMI honor code: “A Cadet will not lie, cheat, steal, nor tolerate those who do.” Those words have stuck with me all these years because they’re so clear. They have become a kind of moral compass for me. They always call me back home safely. Virginia and this country need that more than ever these days.