Hearing from readers is, bar none, the best part of writing for The Times-Dispatch. And, boy, did I hear from the wonderful folks who buy this newspaper after penning a column about Jim Gilmore’s record of service to the commonwealth and nation—which I concluded, despite its well-known faults, is admirable and deserving of respect.

Virginians absorbed more national political limelight in 2008 than in most of the previous half century combined. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton battled for the state’s Democratic Convention dele gates in February. In the fall, Obama and sidekick Joe Biden faced off against John McCain and Sarah Palin for the commonwealth’s 13 electoral votes.

Business and tobacco interests said they will fight Gov. Timothy M. Kaine’s latest attempt to prohibit smoking in Virginia restaurants, while public health groups are seeking a broader workplace ban. Saying he was “compelled by concern for the health and well-being of all Virginians,“ Kaine yesterday proposed a statewide ban on smoking in restaurants, including dining areas in public and private clubs. This is at least the third time Kaine has promoted such legislation.

Brian J. Moran and R. Creigh Deeds, rivals for the Democratic nomination for governor, are collecting fresh endorsements in vote-rich Northern Virginia. A top strategist for Terry McAuliffe, who is readying to make it a three-way primary, said some Virginians are expressing “buyer’s remorse” in backing McAuliffe’s opponents. Moran, a former delegate from Alexandria, returned yesterday to Arlington County, where he started in politics 20 years ago as a junior prosecutor, to pick up the backing of nearly a dozen elective officials.

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine is President-elect Barack Obama’s pick to run the Democratic National Committee, a high-profile post from which the Virginian can steer millions of dollars in cash and services to candidates across the country.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Brian J. Moran proposed yesterday that his two Democratic opponents pledge to refuse campaign contributions from out-of-state donors.

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine this morning unveiled his proposed budget, which calls for increasing Virginia’s cigarette tax and cutting jobs.

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine’s budget proposal calls for a cigarette tax increase of 30 cents per pack, as well as pruning 1,500 state jobs, including 530 new layoffs.

Legislation still can perish at the hands of few state lawmakers in the early morning, but it looks like it’ll soon be on the record. Speaker William J. Howell has directed the clerk of the House of Delegates to start recording votes taken in House subcommittees.

In the state Capitol that once harbored efforts to suppress the political rights and educational opportunities of black Americans, 13 electors yesterday confirmed Virginia’s support for the man who will be the nation’s first black president.

Shelli Snead, a first-year instructional aide at Reams Road Elementary School in Chesterfield County, is worried about her job. “It’s the best job I have ever had,“ she wrote in an e-mail. “But because I’m the ‘low man on the totem pole,‘ I worry if I’ll be back here next year. I already see the stress teachers are under, not having funds for basic things like supplies.“

Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, one of the hottest properties in the Republican Party, said today that Attorney General Bob McDonnell of Virginia would be the same type of reform governor he has been. Jindal, an Indian-American elected to office in a deep Southern state, also said he is not interested in running for president in 2012 and that he plans to seek re-election as governor in 2011.

Democratic leaders rejoiced yesterday over their election successes but were warned not to let up next year when Virginia elects its next governor.

Virginia’s food banks are trying to feed more people in a tight economy by getting help from the state government. The Federation of Virginia Food Banks will ask the General Assembly to fund a $1 million emergency food-purchase program to be shared by the state’s seven food banks. The food banks are requesting $1 million “because we didn’t think we could get $10 million,“ said Roy Peters, a member of the federation board. He’s also vice president of finance and administration for FeedMore, which operates the Central Virginia Foodbank and Meals on Wheels with a combined budget of $6.5 million to $7 million.

Members of the disabled community urged Gov. Timothy M. Kaine yesterday to redirect $43 million earmarked for renovation of buildings at Central Virginia Training Center in Lynchburg to smaller, community-based group homes. Virginia is one of the few states that cling to outmoded institutional settings for the intellectually disabled, said Heidi L. Lawyer, executive director of the Virginia Board for People with Disabilities. She said Virginia is 46th in its funding for community-based services.