I'm surprised no one has announced on the GOP side. Actually, I'm constantly surprised that Baird doesn't have stronger opposition in the 3rd, but I'm wondering what you think about that.

Should the GOP send up a strong opponent (given the 3rd is still technically a swing district)?

If so, what would that candidate look like? What about Brent Boger?

I'd like to hear hers, and hear what she would do instead.

At least you voters in the 3rd District are given a choice. Out here in District 6 Norm Dicks pretty much gets handed the office by default with only a pathetic Republican opposition. So I'll have to vicariously enjoy the debate and sense of suspense in your congressional race, since such a thing doesn't exist out here. Maybe Norm is just good at personal politics.

One thing I have learned about elected officials in my marginal experience in government, it often isn't the stands on the big issues that matter. It is how their office handles the little things for everyday people. How they step in and help normal folks through bureaucracy. Jesse Helms is a good example. His stands on national issues were, to be polite, idiotic. He came across as an old man who was out on a day pass from some mental institution. Yet his office staff was apparently excellent about responding to the individual needs of his constituents, or so say my Democratic friends from that part of the world. So he kept getting re-elected.

Barry Goldwater was another one who looked out for his people. Unlike Jesse, Barry was a thoughtful, if extreme Senator. I know Arizona liberal Democrats who loved Barry as a result of his staff helping them out on a personal matter.

For myself, Insurance Commissioner Mike Kriedler can always count on my vote. His office helped me get a con-artist big insurance company off my back in a very professional and speedy manner. I don't care what party a public official belongs to as long as they provide the kind of public service I experienced with his office.

And that, in a nutshell, is personal politics. It is mostly local, and practical. The "what can you do for me?" voter question is universal through time and space. A great politician is basically a gifted artist who can detect our collective dreams, get ahead of us, and give them a positive voice appealing to our better nature before we can begin to understand what we are thinking. Please note the use of the word "positive."

On the reverse side, I can provide a long list of failures at personal politics, but why waste my energy? I'd rather spend it moving forward.

I could go into the presidential election and why I'm supporting who I support. But that means diddly squat.

The smaller elective offices are going to have a greater effect on our lives. Baird is a politician who I know little about, but if he is successful in staying in office it might have more to do with personal politics than his views on the Big Issues. So using his primary election victory as a some sort of social measurement of his views on Iraq or on the failure of the Oly Left to galvanize against him has to be tempered by his office staff's ability to respond to personal politics. Apparently, they must be pretty good at it since the guy has been in there for a decade. Historically, Democrats have won more congressional elections in this district than Republicans in my memory. So it could be assumed Democrats do a better job of meeting the needs of voters than Republicans here?

I have a really hard time seeing how this election will have anything at all to say about Baird or his policy preferences.

The outcome of this one will likely be exactly like the 2004 election, with a giant supermajority going to Baird.  I don't think this is because everyone agrees with his view on Iraq (I'm pretty clear that isn't the case), but because Crist lacks credibility, political sophistication, and public speaking skills.  

The Canaanite's Call