And there came great winds ...

There was a tornado in Appomattox last night. We were sent to cover the aftermath this morning.

Washington and Lee Mock Convention

Every four years, Washington and Lee University holds a mock political convention for the party out of power in the White House, attempting to guess the forthcoming nominee of that party. And every four years, as an alumnus, I get roped into helping with the live television broadcast of it on campus TV (and streaming on the web, in this modern age).

In my spare time, I of course try to squeeze in a few still photos ...

Political provocateur Ann Coulter spoke and proved something I didn't think possible: you can give a speech too far to the political right for a Washington and Lee audience. As she lost the room, she turned on them, making more and more references to rich "plutocrats," until she finally pointed out to the audience of generally wealthy students of the private university and said, "like your parents."

 Long before she cast her hex, the audience had been reacting first with gasps, and then with expressions of increasing disbelief at what she was saying and how she was saying it, some turning to their phones to tweet their thoughts.

Former RNC and current Virginia State Republican chair Ed Gillespie spoke to a more welcoming reaction.

Also more popular were Newt Gingrich and former Vice President Dick Cheney.

Tallying the delegate counts; the choice -- by a two-to-one margin -- was Donald Trump.