politics

John Edwards admission that he lied and dismissed reports of an affair with Rielle Hunter, a filmmaker hired to cover his presidential campaign, may have ended his public life, but did it also signify an end to the era in which the mainstream media controlled the agenda for national political journalism?

Former President Bill Clinton with Hillary Clinton in Philadelphia on Monday: Photo by Getty ImagesEven before Sen. Hillary Clinton won the Pennsylvania primary last night, her Oregon campaign announced that former President Bill Clinton will be returning to the state.

According to Julie Edwards, a Communication Director with the campaign, Clinton will make several stops around Oregon.

Oregon's primary is May 20, the same day Kentucky voters go to the polls.

The Portland mayoral candidates— businessman Sho Dozono and City Commissioner Sam Adams—faced off in a televised debate tonight, and touched on issues ranging from the physical plant of City Hall, to education and transportation funding.

In general, both exemplified the styles by which they have come to be known: Adams was full of policy ins and outs, while Dozono stressed his record of business success.

Over the past couple of months, Rep. Jeff Merkley’s campaign has been focused on opponent Steve Novick’s willingness to criticize other Democrats. The latest attempt by the Merkley campaign is a pair of videos posted on YouTube by MerkleyForOregon: Steve Novick on Barack Obama and Steve Novick on Hillary Clinton.

The videos juxtapose Novick’s past quotes (familiar to those who have been following the race, such as “Obama is just another captive of special interests fraud”) with scenes from the Portland City Club debate. Both videos conclude with Merkley’s trying to “picture” Novick going to President Obama or Clinton and asking for help on Oregon specific issues (county payments and the Mt. Hood Wilderness expansion, respectively.)

Although Sen. John McCain failed to include a statement in the Oregon Secretary of State’s Voters’ Pamphlet this weekend, he will be hitting the airwaves in Oregon this week… courtesy of the Democratic National Committee.

The DNC’s new ad, which begins with a clip of the Republican candidate saying he “thinks you could argue that Americans overall are better off - because we have had a pretty good prosperous time,” will play nationally, and will be used at events in Oregon.

Steve Marks

Last week, Steve Marks, who is seeking the Democratic nomination in the 5th Congressional District, released his personal financial information and challenged his chief rival, state Sen. Kurt Schrader to do the same.

Marks—who reported a gross income of $185,356 in 2007, primarily from his government relations and lobbying firm—said he is fully committed to openness and transparency, and believes that voters deserve full disclosure.

At first, the ad doesn’t look like something voters have come to expect from Steve Novick’s campaign; images of flags and handshakes and hugs dance across the screen. That is until Novick pulls the plug.

Steve Novick keeps refusing to make a traditional campaign video (witness the two previous: “Beer with Steve” and “To Tell the Truth”), and the strategy has thus far helped the candidate. The “Beer with Steve” ad drew national attention as well as spurred the creation of Left Hook Lager by a Eugene brewery.