"On to Oregon" Obama vs Hillary

    Those were the words of Senator Frank Church, after winning the Nebraska primary, in his quest to beat front runner Jimmy Carter in the 1976 presidential race.
    The Oregonian newspaper had that as their headline, and Church beat Carter in the Beaver State.

    32 years later, we have another competitive race for the White House in this state's primary.

    Like Frank Church, the liberal senator from Idaho, who investigated the CIA and their attempt to assassinate Fidel Castro, Senator Barack Obama, should win this state on May 20, 2008.

    Portland will give Obama the contest by 5 points, while Eugene should push him over double digits.  The more blue collar Springfield will probably eek out a victory for Obama.

    Southern Oregon looks like a slight Clinton victory, with eastern Oregon in the Clinton camp.

    This crystal ball was viewed without any current polls.

    But, the nature of this state is to go for the more independent candidate, as exemplified by its two United States Senators, Ron Wyden and Gordon Smith.

    Wyden, whose parents survived the Holocaust, is a traditional liberal, while conservative Republican Gordon Smith, started criticizing the war in Iraq, last year, and vetoed the drilling for oil in Alaska.

    Of course, Oregon is the home of the late Senator Wayne Morse, who was a Republican, Democrat and Independent...and was only one of the two Senators who voted against the Gulf of Tonkin resolution which expanded the war in south-east Asia.

    For reporters covering the race, there are a couple of coffee shops they should visit to get a feel for the political populace.

    In Springfield, dash into the "Pump" cafe, which reminds one of a typical Iowa lunch counter.  It has huge saws left over from the golden era of tree harvesting, and the clientele is quite moderate.

    In Eugene, the Friendly Natural Foods market, with Mario's(latitude 10) cafe and local residents pop in for an organic breakfast or organic Italian meal after 3pm.  It has 8 tables and a couch.

    The constant rains have been halted and the sun is now out, a lot of the time.  The state has begun to turn absolutely green and beautiful.

    Its a great time to hike in the old growth, or go check out the real "hippie" Saturday market.

    There are real differences in towns.

    Eugene is the home of the University of Oregon.

    I once went into a diner in Springfield and asked for a cup of coffee and a croissant.  The waitress yelled back, for all to hear, This is Springfield, there are NO Croissants in Springfield!

    Thanks for reading:

    Bob Kholos