Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Spin Control

FRIDAY, APRIL 4, 2008

Approaching video parody parity

Hillary Clinton is way behind Barack Obama in terms of raising money. But she may be catching up in one other important metric for the 21st CenturyMusical videos that other people stick on the Internet.Until recently, Obamagirl made the Illinois senator the clear frontrunner in…

Continue reading this post »

THURSDAY, APRIL 3, 2008

Got any spare time?

Turning the Spokane Valley into its own city apparently has brought one of the typical problems of urbanization. Panhandling.So concerned are city leaders about people plying they highways and byways for spare change that they've decided to put together an ad hoc committee on panhandling.The…

Continue reading this post »


Discussion topic: Answer the #@*! phone

The new Hillary Clinton campaign commercial has a familiar ring to it. The phone at 3 a.m. The commercial debuted Wednesday, about the same time that a pro-Obama group in Hollywood released the following video parody of the first 3 a.m. commercial. Click to see…

Continue reading this post »

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 2, 2008

Can't they take a joke

Hillary Clinton tried an April Fool's Day joke in the campaign on Tuesday. Dan Abrams of MSNBC showed that he doesn't have much of a sense of humor, and that he doesn't know much about bowling, where strikes are a good thing, and the one…

Continue reading this post »


King County cops backing Rossi

The King County Police Guild dropped a line to Dino Rossi recently, telling the GOP governor's candidate he's got their support in his grudge rematch with Gov. Chris Gregoire.The letter did not come with a check, although no one should be surprised if the guild's…

Continue reading this post »

TUESDAY, APRIL 1, 2008


Tuesday's quickie political briefing

Here are today's headlines in the presidential campaign, from The Associated Press.Pelosi says superdelegates have right to vote their conscience, Democratic race should go onClinton likens herself to legendary film boxer Rocky, says she won’t quitObama stops at Pa. factory as he makes his case…

Continue reading this post »

MONDAY, MARCH 31, 2008

Monday's quickie political briefing

Here's a look at the headlines in the presidential race, from The Associated Press.McCain highlights military heritage at start of the biographical tourObama leads in ongoing tally of Texas caucus resultsBill Clinton courts superdelegates in CaliforniaShould Hillary Clinton drop out? Obama says no. Watch today's…

Continue reading this post »

FRIDAY, MARCH 28, 2008

What's in a name (besides confusion)

As Boise bureau chief Betsy Russell reports at Eye on Boise, Idaho is about to have a new law that could add parenthetical information to the ballot.Candidates who have changed their names, as one Senate hopeful who goes by the name of Pro-Life has done,…

Continue reading this post »

THURSDAY, MARCH 27, 2008

Cantwell: Let 'em play it out

Democratic super delegate Maria Cantwell said she’s sticking with Hillary Clinton and waiting for voters in the remaining states before discussing what – if anything – could make her switch.“I’m not going to make any decisions about anything until all the states have voted,” Cantwell,…

Continue reading this post »

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 26, 2008

Tuzla's 15 minutes of fame

The "landing under sniper fire" mis-speak is a story that apparently has legs on the Web. After the original footage of the landing was put up late Tuesday, video-philes started playing with it. First, they added sound effectsClick to see more.

Continue reading this post »


Jumping ship

A presidential candidate in his 70s, who developed a reputation as a maverick within his party for some of the stances he took in the debates but couldn't get the nomination, has switched to the Libertarian Party.And if you think we're talking about Ron Paul,…

Continue reading this post »

TUESDAY, MARCH 25, 2008

Animated debate

The debate continues over what Jeremiah Wright, Geraldine Ferraro and others connected to the presidential campaigns said, and what the candidates should have done.Even for those who are tired of the debate, this is an entertaining video.

Continue reading this post »


Tuesday's quickie political briefing

Here's a quick look at the presidential campaign headlines from The Associated Press:McCain leaves housing crisis options on table but places limits on government assistanceParty squabbles parallel ’84 for Democratic convention’s lady of the HouseFormer first lady Nancy Reagan to endorse Republican John McCain

Continue reading this post »

THURSDAY, MARCH 20, 2008

Write on

When Gov. Chris Gregoire signs bills into law, her office needs to bring a the proper supplies.Mainly, a big pile of pens.When Gregoire stopped by the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture on Thursday, they needed about 50 pens, even though she only signed 15…

Continue reading this post »


Not just a so, so comment

With one word -- "So?" -- Vice President Cheney managed to spawn a fair amount of outrage among people opposed to the War in Iraq. It's spawning a whole raft of YouTube submissions, most of them not suitable for this blog.But if you want to…

Continue reading this post »

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 19, 2008


Eye on Oly: Senate GOP rumble

Republican leaders in the Washington state Senate apparently are involved in a spitting match.As Spokesman-Review's Olympia Bureau Chief Rich Roesler reports, Sen. Pam Roach is pretty much calling out her caucus leader, Sen. Mike Hewett.How do we know? The Tacoma Morning News Tribune acquired a…

Continue reading this post »

TUESDAY, MARCH 18, 2008


Reax to the Top 2 ruling

Reaction is trickling in on the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling on the constitutionality of the state's Top Two primary.Not surprisingly, Secretary of State Sam Reed, a big supporter of the proposal, is pretty happy:“This is a victory for the voters of Washington because our democracy…

Continue reading this post »


Discussion topic: Supremes and the Top 2

A huge decision for this year's election came down from the U.S. Supreme Court today.The Top Two primary, which voters approved but the top political parties managed to block in the lower federal courts, is not unconstitutional, the Supremes said. At least, not on its…

Continue reading this post »

MONDAY, MARCH 17, 2008

SUNDAY, MARCH 16, 2008

Swearing off

Cathy McMorris Rodgers, who celebrates St. Patrick’s Day Monday by officially jumping into re-election mode, is swearing off fat. Not transfats or polyunsaturates or certain types of cholesterols. There may even be something more than granola at her campaign breakfast.She’s attempting to go cold turkey…

Continue reading this post »


FRIDAY, MARCH 14, 2008

McMorris McRunning

This will come as no great surprise to anyone, but Cathy McMorris Rodgers is running for re-election.Only slightly more surprising, she's announcing it starting Monday, on St. Patrick's Day. That's a tradition for the Eastern Washington Republican, who started her two previous congressional campaigns with…

Continue reading this post »

The Spokesman-Review's political team keeps a critical eye on local, state and national politics.