Former U.S. Rep. Jim Marshall, D-Georgia, knows the perils of such trends all too well.

CNN: STORY HIGHLIGHTS

The peacekeepers returned fire, then "broke contact, " Reuters quoted Major Jim Marshall, a spokesman for U.S. forces in Kosovo, as saying.

CNN: Kosovo NATO troops under fire

His careful minding of parochial concerns makes him the favorite to beat Democrat Jim Marshall, Macon's former mayor, regardless of who carries the district in the presidential race.

CNN: latimes.com: The South is crucial for Bush but straying