Gordon Smith, the Republican incumbent who outspent Merkeley by $9 million to $3 million, had an interesting footnote to his campaign.

He recalled all his signs which identified him as a Republican and reprinted them without the party identification. He did not describe himself as a Republican in his TV ads, and ran thousands of ads showing him with Obama and other Democrats. If one were a casual voter one wouldn't recognize him as a Bush ally who voted a Conservative line until the people of Oregon made it clear he wouldn't be re-elected.

Smith then changed except on the big things, such as medical care for kids. In the clutch Bush could count on him.

Arf