Sen. Barack Obama is returning to the (outside D.C.) Chesapeake region for the first time since his resounding Potomac Primary victories with two stops in Virginia.

Though his Republican rival Sen. John McCain has returned to Maryland, Obama won't be taking a victory lap here.

Obama has had Virginia's Democratic leaders in his pocket all along. With Hillary Clinton not yet out of the race, it would not serve the message of party unity if O'Malley, Mikulski, Brown, Ruppersberger and others had to sit out his visit out of respect for their chosen candidate.