Williamsburg Hopes This George Washington Impersonator Will Improve Tourism

With a bit of pomp and circumstance, Colonial Williamsburg announced on Aug. 3 that the nation's first president, George Washington, is hitting the 2016 presidential campaign trail this month in Iowa and New Hampshire.

Of course, it's not the real deal. As most schoolchildren know, the hero of the Revolutionary War died 215 years ago in his Mount Vernon home.

Washington is visiting the early caucus and primary states in the form of appropriately dressed actor-interpreter Ron Carnegie. Instead of joining the army of candidates already seeking the nation's highest office, he'll implore Americans to get involved in the election.

As Washington, Carnegie strode across the Kimball Theatre stage in tan breeches, black boots and a dark blue officer's coat decorated with a three-star general's gold epaulets. As a fife player and drummer led the way, he lifted his tricorn black hat to acknowledge the applause of several hundred in the audience.

"A free nation relies on an enlightened and educated citizenry," he said. "I am