Teachers with subject-matter expertise should be paid in part based on the subject matter they teach. Math and science experts, for instance, command greater pay in the private sector than art or literature experts.

Catholic politicians seem to be everywhere these days. In Virginia alone, the governor and attorney general are both Roman Catholic. On the national level, Catholic politicians seem to be spilling out of every tabernacle in town. This is not surprising given that 24.5 percent of Americans are Catholic. Except for brief interruptions, American Catholics have remained loyal to the Democratic Party since the days of mass Catholic immigration when the party was quick to dispense desperately needed jobs and cash to struggling families in return for votes.

This week Republicans in the House of Delegates promoted legislation to enhance health coverage and delivery for Virginians. The three-bill package includes items (1) to make employee insurance more affordable to small businesses, (2) to encourage the computerization of patient records, and (3) to streamline the permitting process for new or expanded health care facilities.

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.

Barack Obama clobbered John McCain among Hispanic voters. Indeed, his strength among Hispanics contributed to his victories in Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and—yes—Virginia.

Election officials have completed their recount in the 5th Congressional District, and it’s official: Democrat Tom Perriello defeated Republican incumbent Virgil Goode. The win means that this year Virginia Democrats took three U.S. House seats from Republicans, thereby giving them a 6-5 edge in the delegation. Democrat Mark Warner also won the Senate seat opened by the retirement of Republican John Warner.

Republicans as a whole have been reluctant to admit the crucial part played by Iraq in their recent electoral drubbing. The latest favorite theory is that only because of GOP success in engineering the surge did Iraq disappear from the public radar.

Louisiana—a state with a long history of political corruption and ineptitude—seems to be changing its ways. Last year, its voters elected Bobby Jindal to the governorship. A reformer, a pragmatist, a devout Catholic, a Republican, and a conservative, Jindal promised Louisiana honest, limited government that works. So far, he appears to be keeping his vow.

For Republicans, this passes for group therapy: Over breakfast, cruising the halls and while tossing back beers, GOP activists asked themselves why so many people don’t seem to like their party.

Virginia’s embattled Republican chairman gets to keep his job—for now. Del. Jeffrey M. Frederick of Prince William County apparently will remain as party leader despite high-decibel, grass-roots discontent after historic losses last month for Virginia Republicans. The GOP’s Central Committee was meeting last night in closed session to quarrel over the party’s failing finances. However, Frederick loyalists within the party’s hierarchy left the meeting to report that his chairmanship was safe.

The only real fight for a spot on the 2009 Republican ticket—the contest for the attorney general’s nomination—is now a three-way affair.

The only real fight for a spot on the 2009 Republican ticket—the contest for the attorney general’s nomination—is now a three-way affair. Dave Foster, a lawyer and former School Board member in heavily Democratic Arlington County, yesterday announced for attorney general. Foster said as the state’s top lawyer, he would continue the crackdown on cyber-sex predators and other Internet-based threats, such as identity theft.