The final presidential and gubernatorial debates are tonight. My advice: Bring a pillow. Unless you've been following the intense media speculation about whether McCain will bring up Obama's connection to former Weather Underground member William Ayers, and unless you haven't yet witnessed a gubernatorial mudslinging bout between Democratic Gov. Chris Gregoire and Republican challenger Dino Rossi, know this: Both debates are guaranteed to be boring. As for the debates' after-effects, most pundits agree that the presidential debate isn't likely to make much of a difference in the polls. The gubernatorial race, however, is close enough that any gaffes by either candidate could tip the scales. Obama and McCain are on at 6 p.m. Gregoire and Rossi are on at 8 p.m.
As was widely reported yesterday, the independent groups backing Gregoire and Rossi received big bucks recently, putting the combined price tag on the governorship at $38 million. Rossi currently leads in fundraising, thanks to a $3.8 million contribution on Friday from the Building Industry Association of Washington. The Republican and his supporters now enjoy a $6 million financial advantage over Gregoire and her backers. ...
On the road: After traveling the state for the past two weeks, Times columnist Danny Westneat says most of Washington's women aren't going to vote for Republican presidential candidate John McCain. The reason? Sarah Palin. ...
On those ads: Have you seen the ad saying Gregoire "lost track of 1,300 sex offenders"? The facts in the ad are true, P-I reporter Levi Pulkkinen writes, though they leave out one important detail: The number of missing registered sex offenders has decreased by 16 percent since Gregoire took office in 2004. ...
On the hustings: If you think Washington's governor's race is as close as it gets, you ain't been following the Oregon senate race. The contenders, Republican U.S. Sen. Gordon Smith and Democratic challenger Jeff Merkley, are the subject of this New York Times story about what could be one of the closest races in the country. (OK, not 133 votes close, but close. Real close.) Speaking of Oregon, FiveThirtyEight has a fascinating look at the state's extremely polarized voters. ...
High-tech endorsement: The editorial board at The Seattle Times endorses Reuven Carlyle over John Burbank for House Position 1 in the 36th Legislative District, citing Carlyle's work for "new-technology startup companies" as exactly the "kind of business experience the Democratic caucus needs." ...
High and mighty: The editorial board at the Everett Herald is recommending that voters reject both Proposition 1, Sound Transit's light rail expansion measure, and Initiative 985, the Tim Eyman-sponsored "traffic congestion relief" measure. Meanwhile, both the P-I and the News Tribune recommend rejecting Inititiative 1029, agreeing that the Legislature would be a better place to address care worker training requirements than the initiative process.
Small and loud: Speaking of Prop 1, Erica C. Barnett at the Stranger reports NoToProp1.org, the campaign opposing the measure, is being driven by the large donations of only 10 people, while Mass Transit Now, the group supporting the measure, have more than 170 donors. ...
What a joke: Moises Mendoza at the P-I has a suggestion for residents of the "Nickelsville" homeless encampment: Move to Canada. Really.
