Jim Camden

Pat Buchanan shakes hands with Harold Earls on Monday as Earls' sister Elizabeth watches in Roswell, Ga. Photo by Associated Press

One of the least understood and most ignored parts of the presidential process - precinct caucuses - will be held Tuesday night in Washington state. Loved by party activists who understand the Byzantine system, they are loathed by reformers as a throwback to the days when party hacks picked candidates in smokefilled rooms.

Some of U.S. Rep. George Nethercutt's independent political allies say he is risking their support unless he backs a major change in election spending. "Campaign finance reform is a big issue," said Connie Smith, state director of United We Stand America.

Waldo

Presidential candidates answer two different kinds of questions as they campaign for the nation's first primary. There are questions from the news media and questions from people.

Missing the candidate for the crowd in New Hampshire 1. Presidential hopeful Lamar Alexander, in checked jacket at center, turns around as he is surrounded by the media at a stop in Milford, N.H. Photo by Associated Press 2. Bob Dole winks at someone duirng a coampaing stop in Goffstown, N.H. Photo by Associated Press

Presidential candidate Morry Taylor probably will be out of the race before it moves on to the Northwest. In a way, that's too bad, because Taylor - a blunt-talking Illinois industrialist who generally is regarded as running eighth in the crowded field - did the best job of articulating the concerns of Washington state voters Thursday night.

Republican presidential hopeful Steve Forbes greets supporters upon his arrival at the Manchester, N.H., airport Wednesday. Photo by Associated Press

As they arrive for a frigid week of campaigning, winners and losers in the Iowa caucuses are greeted by a billboard at a key intersection in the Granite State's largest city. "Running for president?" asks the billboard. "Welcome to New Hampshire. Now, what are YOU going to do to balance the budget?" The billboard - and a much smaller version that adorns shop windows throughout southern New Hampshire - is sponsored by the Concord Coalition, a bipartisan group that regards a balanced federal budget as the key issue in the nation's future.

Forget Iowa. Ignore the hype that network television and national political writers will dish out today and Monday. Take a pass on all those stories about the flannel-clad residents of the Hawkeye State trudging through the snow to a living room in Dubuque or Cedar Rapids or Council Bluffs so they can stand up in a caucus for a candidate.

Washington state voters would rather the federal government balance its budget than give them a tax cut. In fact, they'd rather have Congress and President Clinton figure out a way to balance the budget than resolve other key issues facing their government, such as Medicare, land policy, gun control or the Endangered Species Act. That's the clear message of a new scientific survey of Washington voters conducted for The Spokesman-Review and KHQ-TV.

Now that the campaign trail intersects the information superhighway, even the not-so-sophisticated computer user can satisfy the craving to keep up with the folks trying to occupy the White House. With a modem, a service that allows some connection to the World Wide Web and a little time, the political junkie can get a megabyte-size fix. That's good, because the chances of seeing Bob Dole, Bill Clinton or Steve Forbes up close and personal in Washington or Idaho are, at best, slim until things get sorted out in Monday's Iowa caucuses and the Feb. 20 New Hampshire primary.

Washington voters give Gov. Mike Lowry low job ratings, say moral character is a key campaign issue and are ready to elect someone else. Those are the conclusions of a new scientific survey of state voters, conducted recently for The Spokesman-Review and KHQ-TV.

U.S. Rep. George Nethercutt has just more than a year on the job, but Eastern Washington voters seem to like what they see. Half the voters in a new 5th Congressional District poll say he's doing a good or excellent job, while only 17 percent say they want him replaced.

President Clinton and his Republican rivals who want votes in Eastern Washington this fall might want to remember a key lesson from 1992. It's the economy.

Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole currently leads Republican presidential hopefuls in Washington state but could face a strong challenge from magazine publisher Steve Forbes. Both Dole and Forbes would have a tough time beating President Clinton in Washington if the general election was held now, according to a poll commissioned by The Spokesman-Review and KHQ-TV. The reason: Clinton is more popular - or at least, less unpopular - than any of the major Republican challengers.

Doug Causey, a geologist with the Bureau of Mines for 17 years, moves out of his office as the bureau officially finally closed its doors Friday. Photo by Colin Mulvany/The Spokesman-Review

Nethercutt leaves a meeting at the Whitman County Hospital last week. Photo by Christopher Anderson/The Spokesman-Review

Wanted: E. Wash. Demo for Congress. Good pay & benefits. No experience necessary, but flexible job or sizable bank account helpful. Democrats' efforts to find a strong opponent for freshman Rep. George Nethercutt haven't quite come to placing a Help Wanted classified ad.

Former House Speaker Tom Foley will head a panel that advises President Clinton on how well the nation's spy systems are working. Foley was named chairman of the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board, a 15-member panel that regularly reviews the Central Intelligence Agency and other government agencies involved in gathering such data. The board - which includes military leaders, former members of Congress, corporate executives and legal experts - reports directly to the president.

Federal workers might not be sent home on furlough this month, even if Congress and President Clinton can't settle on a budget plan, two Washington Republicans predicted Wednesday. But agencies without budgets may find themselves with less money to spend, and some programs the Republicans oppose may have nothing. As Republican leaders canceled budget talks in the other Washington, Rep. George Nethercutt and Sen. Slade Gorton said in separate interviews they are becoming increasingly pessimistic that a budget compromise will be reached.

Mayor Jack Geraghty probably won't get many arguments from the City Council over his call to overhaul the city's management and combine some services with the county. But what can be combined, and how things will be overhauled, may generate more debate. Councilwoman Phyllis Holmes suggested the city needs to develop a new concept of assigning jobs.

Rep. George Nethercutt exchanges pleasantries with two protesters outside the Ripath Hotel on Friday. Photo by Christopher Anderson/The Spokesman-Review

Rep. Helen Chenoweth chats with Dell Guyaz, who came to Boise for her campaign fund-raiser sans Gingrich. Photo by Associated Press