Hello Sunday readers!
If you’re not hanging with me on Saturdays — where I usually hang my hat — you’re missing quite the, ah, discussion.
I guess I had too much for Saturday — where I put the odds out on the presidential race so … I’m back.
Click here to read what odds Lou put on the presidential election
Remember kids, no betting. You’ll end up in a hostel in Lithuania with questionable sheets. OK, let’s do this!
For county commissioner, Boldt opened as a 7-5 favorite but now I have Madore as a slight 6-5 favorite.
This will be a real horse race.
Boldt — a Republican — has positioned himself as a moderate and he gained a slight advantage after his own party began to beat him up.
But Boldt began to lose some ground when he moved to the right. Look, the hard right-wingers will never vote for Boldt. So he actually needs to push more in a moderate direction, not less. Boldt has gone too far down the rabbit hole to come out looking different now.
Madore — also a Republican — is still coming across as too absolute on too many issues. He needs to push harder on his ability to listen and learn, something he has said in the past.
And of course Madore has the whole “no tolls” bridge thing going for him. Look, the idea that we actually have to pay for something that we get is sort of foreign to us Americans. We now believe everything should be free because so many of us get free stuff from the government.
On the I.Q. front Madore also has the advantage. Boldt is no dummy and has done very well at learning the issues. But if you’re looking for the most likely candidate to win “Jeopardy,” it’s Madore.
In the other county commissioner race, Tanner opened as an 11-10 favorite and I still see Tanner as being the slight favorite.
It’s really too close to call.
If you’re looking for the sharpest tool in the shed, Tanner — the Democrat — is your guy. He’s bright, articulate, savvy and likeable.
As for Mielke — the Republican — it’s difficult for me to figure this guy out. He runs for office using this tactic:
“Hey, if you want a guy in office just like you, well me is you so if you vote for me it’s a vote for you except that I get the $100,000 a year salary!”
On the I.Q. front, Tanner wins hands down. So where does that leave Mielke on the smarts scale? Somewhere between Yacolt and Amboy, I guess. (I have no idea what this means, but it sounds good.)
Hey if you’re looking for someone to always vote against stuff, Mielke — otherwise known as “Dr. No” — is your guy. Now don’t confuse our Dr. No with the devious Dr. Julius No in the 1962 James Bond film.
Our Dr. No got the name because he almost always votes no and lets the other two commissioners do the dirty work by voting yes. The James Bond Dr. No was cunning and shrewd. Those traits are not in Mielke’s wheelhouse.
But Mielke really is like you and me. And that is what’s keeping this race close.
OK, now get out there begin the discussion. And remember …Kyrgyzstan hostels.
Lou Brancaccio is The Columbian’s editor. Reach him at 360-735-4505, lou.brancaccio@columbian.com or Twitter: http://twitter.com/lounews
