PLP 2010 Profile: Chris Obenshain

Name: Chris Obenshain
Age: 31
Birthplace: Richmond (birthplace) and Roanoke (where I grew up)
Current Digs: Richmond again, by way of Radford (I apparently like cities that start with 'R')
Occupation: Assistant Attorney General
Favorite part about the job: The uninterrupted sleep I get at night
Your first job ever? I had a brief career as a child actor, the highlight of which was appearing in a couple national TV ads for S&K Menswear stores. That was until they hired Johnny Bench and crushed my prepubescent dreams.
Favorite book? A Guidebook to Virginia's Historical Markers
Favorite movie? Top Gun
Comfort food? Pralines and Cream Ice Cream
What's in your car CD player right now? My 6-Disc changer right now has Kenny Chesney, Foo Fighters, Tom Petty, The Who, Carbon Leaf and Sublime
Next journey? A four-city baseball trip next spring and a visit to Germany next fall
Favorite Virginia vacation spot? Blacksburg on Saturdays in the fall. Nowhere else even comes close.
First political memory? I think the fact that I was at the famous 1978 Virginia Republican convention in utero is probably to blame for me being the way I am today. The first politician I vividly remember is Ronald Reagan speaking to the nation after the Challenger disaster.
Whom do you admire and why? I have great admiration for my favorite President, James K. Polk. Even after being defeated for re-election as Governor of Tennessee and declared politically dead, he managed to come back two years later to defeat a former President for his Party's nomination and then defeat perhaps the most powerful politician of his day, Henry Clay, for the Presidency. He set clear goals for his Presidency and he achieved them all in only four years. He also stuck to his principles in declaring that he would only serve a single term and then honoring that pledge despite his success. Polk's unique combination of courage, vision, and integrity are certainly to be admired.
Best advice you ever got? "The great pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do." I got that from a fortune cookie.
If you could have dinner with any one currently living, whom would it be and why? Sean Connery, because he is just so darn cool.
Describe a perfect day. Waking up on the family farm in Montgomery County on a cool crisp fall morning, a hot breakfast and shower, putting on the orange and maroon, tailgating with friends, watching the Hokies notch another 'W', spending the rest of the evening eating, laughing, and talking sports and politics with family and friends. I have had many days like this, and it never gets old.
One thing most people might be surprised to learn about you? I am one-quarter Armenian.
Ambition, political or otherwise? To help elect the first Virginia-born President since Woodrow Wilson.