Bounce back. That's what Southwest Virginia delegates to the Republican National Convention, which begins in Minneapolis-St. Paul tonight, say they must do by regaining campaign momentum after the Democrats' presidential poll numbers got a bump from their gathering in Denver last week.

Judi Lynch of Christiansburg typifies the GOP's determination and acknowledgement that Barack Obama's acceptance speech raised the bar for winning the White House in November.

"It doesn't matter who's on TV, or what the commentators say," she said. "The media has fallen in love with Obama. But we're going to win this election."

The Southwest Virginia delegation, made up of both convention veterans and first-timers, represents a cross-section of Republicans. They include conservatives who insist that their presumptive presidential nominee, Sen. John McCain, strongly maintain his longtime stand against abortion, to moderates who want him to demonstrate bipartisan qualities that may draw independent voters and help reduce legislative gridlock if he is elected.

But looming over what the various Republican delegates yearn for is the pressing need to come out of the convention on Thursday with the unity apparently achieved by the previously discordant Democrats.

Trixie Averill of Roanoke County said, "The real issue here is to win."

Here's how some area delegates describe the political passions and anticipation of their rally this week.

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Kevin Corwin, chairman of Bedford County Republican Committee. He works in financial services marketing investment products to retail brokers.

Corwin first volunteered in a presidential campaign in 1968 "going door to door for Richard Nixon" in his successful run against Hubert Humphrey.

But this week is Corwin's first national convention.

Describing himself as "strongly conservative," Corwin said McCain wasn't his first choice among the candidates in the Republican primaries. But he vows support for the Arizona senator now.

"I'm hoping he'll be very attentive to conservative values. He needs to stand firm on national security, and I don't want to see him bashing Bush on all fronts to garner votes in this election."

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Patty Manthe, chairman of the Montgomery County Republicans. Retired senior analyst for the federal General Accounting Office in Washington, D.C.

Although Manthe has long been a Republican, she has been "outwardly neutral" until retirement because of federal law prohibiting federal civil service employees from political activities.

"I would love to have been at the convention when Ronald Reagan was nominated the first time," she said. But her long wait to get involved has added to Manthe's excitement about this year's Republican gathering.

"I'm thrilled, and I can't tell you how excited I am that our party has a genuine American hero as our nominee. To us, he's a dream candidate."

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Judi Lynch, Montgomery County resident who is a member of the Republican State Central Committee. She's an administrator at Virginia Tech's Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine.

A Hokies football season ticket holder, Lynch gave away her seat for the opening game on Saturday to arrive early in Minneapolis-St. Paul, where she'll help with delegate orientation.

Lynch has heard the buzz from commentators and columnists that McCain could gain an edge by declaring that if he wins the presidency, he'll limit himself to one term -- which might alleviate some concerns about his age. But she rejects that strategy: "We're in this for the long haul."

One tack she hopes McCain will take at the convention is to open up more about his current personal life and family values.

"He has an adopted daughter" from Bangladesh. "I don't think most people know that side of him, and it's important."

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Wendell Walker, vice chairman of the Lynchburg Republican Committee. He works at the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry as a field representative.

For Walker, the convention, his second after going to Philadelphia for Bush's first nomination in 2000, is a chance to take a brief break from the door-to-door campaigning he has been doing this summer.

"We've been distributing information and phone banking. I think we have our work cut out for us in getting people out to vote," he said.

And while Democrats are campaigning against what they say is an unsatisfactory "status quo" being maintained by Republicans, Walker said the reaction he's getting from many potential voters is that much should stay as it is.

"Change can scare people. We don't really know what the Obama change is other than it's going to cost a whole lot of money."

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Kathy Terry, a Roanoke resident for 25 years who has four grandchildren and another on the way.

This will be her fifth Republican Convention since 1988.

She drove the 1,100 miles from Roanoke to Minnesota's Twin Cities in part to have some quiet time before helping draft the party's platform.

Clearly stated positions on the issues are crucial in this campaign, she said.

"People recognize that John McCain might not be as good a performer as Obama. So it's what he says that matters, not necessarily how he says it."