"We need your help getting the housing economy back up," Worthington says.

Later, after Barrow leaves, Worthington ponders the chances of a Barrow victory.

"Is anyone a Democrat around here?" he says, looking around a room full of Republicans.

Barrow knows well that he's facing the challenge of a lifetime around these parts.

He's counting on making personal connections that will help him bridge the political gap.

Like with Philip Smith, the manager of aluminum maker Elixir Industries in nearby Douglas.

In a chat in his office, Smith tells Barrow two things right off the bat: that he pretty much votes Republican, and that Barrow's GOP challenger, Lee Anderson, is also getting a tour of Elixir today.

Not one to show a great deal of emotion, Barrow nods his head and lets Smith continue.

"Here's what people around here don't like about Washington," Smith says. "People are tired of bickering between Republicans and Democrats."

Barrow leans forward in his armchair.

"I'm a party unfavorite," he tells Smith. "I am one of the most independent people up there.

"You should never surrender your own good judgment to someone else."

A politician's true measure of independence, Barrow believes, is how often he disagrees with his own side and votes with the other. On that scale, Barrow's a clear voice down the middle, he tells Smith.

That's exactly how a television ad portrays Barrow to prospective voters.

"Hi, I'm John Barrow. Some people like me. Some people don't," starts the ad.

He says the Democrats don't like his "A" rating with the NRA, which endorsed him in the race. Republicans, he says, don't like that he voted against the plan to privatize Medicare. He says both parties were wrong on the Wall Street bailout.

"I approved this message because folks in Washington don't like me being independent, but you're the one who counts."

It's that kind of courting of conservatives that wins Barrow points. He makes headway with Smith.

The plant manager tells Barrow he is tired of young people who ought to be working taking advantage of entitlements. He's had enough of the country's massive deficit.

"You can't spend more than you earn," Smith says.

"That's right," Barrow says, telling him how he has been working with the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Coalition in Congress to reduce the deficit.

It's apparent that it will take a lot for Smith to cast a ballot for a Democrat. But Barrow, it seems, has gotten his ear.

John Barrow greets aluminum plant employees in Douglas, Georgia, a town that was added to his district when the GOP-dominated legislature redrew the lines.

Kith and kin

Smith takes him on an exhaustive tour of Elixir's vast plant, which spits out shiny new aluminum products in seemingly every shape and size known to man. The workers here make shower doors, side rails for golf carts, even field-hockey posts.