A source "tight in the Obama campaign" has sent out a memo, meant to reassure anxious supporters by deflecting attention from national polls, where McCain is rising, and to the state-by-state electoral tally, where the election will be settled. While there might be some disinformation in such a message, and things are obviously still fluid, it makes for interesting reading. Washington and Oregon remain firmly in the "Obama solid" category, while Montana has joined Idaho in the "McCain solid" group.
Republican gubernatorial candidate Dino Rossi has been hammering Democratic Gov. Chris Gregoire in his advertisements for raising "the gas tax." But as Seattle Post-Intelligencer columnist Joel Connelly points out today, "Rossi would take a chunk of the gas tax increase to pay for his $15 billion 'Pave, baby, Pave!' roads expansion plan ... complete with its specter of an eight-lane Evergreen Point Bridge." Said another way: Rossi is against the increased gas tax — unless he's elected and able to use the extra cash for his transportation proposal.
The falls of Washington Mutual and Lehman Brothers and all the rest are comeuppances that, with any luck, won't trigger economic catastrophe. But it's going to be a rough go for a while.
Wednesday, Sept. 10, was "a sad day for grassroots democracy in Seattle," according to Seattle Divest from War and Occupation (SDWO). The group — sponsors of Initiative 97, which would have directed the Seattle City Employees' Retirement System (SCERS) to divest "from stocks and bonds funding war and occupation in the Middle East" — was referring to King County Superior Court Judge Steven Gonzalez's decision that I-97 was unenforceable in that it exceeded legislative authority by making specific investment directions to SCERS, which is bound by the prudent-person rule.
John McCain's selection of Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate provides an open window into the calculations of a political campaign at a critical turning point. It also reveals much about the character of the 72-year-old GOP nominee.
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