For our second campus town hall in as many days, we visited Old Dominion University in Norfolk. Senator Warner emphasized the need for a national competitiveness strategy, and students asked smart questions about the European debt crisis, trade, foreign aid, and how to stay optimistic in tough economic and political times.

"Be smart enough not to accept simplistic answers," Senator Warner advised the ODU students. "Be curious enough to want to know more. And demand more of those who represent you."

Next, we headed to the Children's Hospital of the King's Daughters in Norfolk for their annual lunch thanking supporters and volunteers. CHKD is Virginia’s only free-standing, full-service pediatric hospital -- and one of only 43 in the nation. The independent, not-for-profit hospital serves as the central referral center for all specialized pediatric care for more than two million people.

The Senator shared his own story as an anxious parent who over the years has had to rush two of his own daughters to a children's hospital, and how important it is to preserve funding for child-specific health care.

"We need to look at everything in this deficit crisis, but we need to make sure that we protect those who need it the most."