Slog

In somewhat heartening news for supporters of Gov. Christine Gregoire (whose responses to Republican Dino Rossi’s bombastic attacks has been, frankly, lackluster), a new Elway poll shows Gregoire leading Rossi by either 10 points or 4, depending on how Rossi is labeled. “Republican Dino Rossi” loses, 51-41, but “Dino Rossi, who prefers the GOP Party” is just four points behind, at 48-44. The difference isn’t just semantic; Rossi will be identified as “preferring” the “GOP Party” on the November ballot, so the closer margin is probably more accurate.

Meanwhile, in response to Rossi’s misleading “Casino Chris” campaign ad, the Washington State Democrats put together their own ad, called “Casino Dino.” The ad charges that the Republican Governors Association, which paid for the anti-Gregoire ad, took $1.6 million from Las Vegas casinos—gambling money that, unlike tribal contributions, Rossi apparently doesn’t regard as “dirty.” So far, the RGA has also contributed $1 million to Rossi’s campaign—nearly twice as much as Gregoire’s campaign accepted from Native American tribes.

Finally, the first Rossi-Gregoire debate will be broadcast live on KOMO-4 this Saturday, September 20, at 9:00 pm. A Gregoire supporter tells me Gregoire supporters have devised a drinking game around Rossi’s use of faux-folksy anecdotes. Says the supporter: “We’ll be taking shots of tequila and chasing them with Gatorade and/or Plan B. (Since they’re essentially the same thing.)”