Tape Doesn’t Amuse Candidate

A videotape on a continuous loop like those at trade shows and college fairs is bringing some added holiday cheer to Republican Party headquarters on Capitol Hill.

And it already may have changed one of the political dynamics in Oregon’s U.S. Senate election.

The tape is from the pop quiz KOIN-TV of Portland gave to candidates in the primary race. It shows U.S. Rep. Ron Wyden declining to answer questions about the location of Bosnia and the price of some everyday consumer goods.

The tape runs all day on a television in the lobby of the National Republican Senatorial Committee. A loaf of bread and a gallon milk are next to the TV.

“A little holiday humor,” committee aide Gordon Hensley explained.

It’s not very funny to Democratic nominee Wyden, who, as a result of his poor showing in the quiz, finds himself without a key strategic weapon against Republican Gordon Smith in the Jan. 30 election.

Smith, the conservative state Senate president, is a multimillionaire.