Here's an article on Virginia. In areas called "exurbs" there seem to be more Obama voters living their now. The stereotype of the so-called college educated "middle class" voter who will vote GOP or Dem, depending on the candidate.

As posters are aware, rising gas prices, falling home values, and seeing foreclosed homes are leading to what William referred as as losing confidence.

These exurbs now have more of the "Patio Man" voters, as the working-class GOP leaning whites have dimished.

A brief excerpt, but the entire article is worth scanning. The Suburbs and Exurbs are leaning toward Obama in VA: Also, there is another character in addition to "Joe Sixpack," and "Joe the Plumber." "Patio Man."

Lang explained the Democratic ascendancy by invoking the archetype of "Patio Man," coined by the columnist David Brooks in 2002.

Patio Man, as Lang sees it, is typically a middle manager who works in a suburban office park and has a college education and maybe a master's degree. He is a centrist, upset not only about his home's plummeting value but also with the Bush administration's lapses in Iraq and in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Patio Man is also fairly comfortable with the notion of an African American president, because exurbs in places such as Northern Virginia are increasingly diverse. Plus, Lang said, exurban women are not enamored of McCain's choice of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate, which polls have shown has not gone over well with many educated suburbanites.
Entire: Dems see opportunity in outer 'burbs' troubles - Washington Post - MSNBC.com