Unlike Rossi, Gregoire doesn't seem to be making any attempt to win the election.

her problem is that she's pissed a lot of seattleites off with the Viaduct dithering.

She just hasn't been a substantive leader. Unfortunately, since Washington State Dems can't hold their own leaders accountable, it's going to take an excruciating 4 years of GOP medieval lunacy before we get a decent Democrat who can actually move things forward. Goodbye, Gregoire.

It's ironic that Washingtonians look like they may put a Bush-style G.O.P. operative in office at precisely the same time the rest of the country kicks the bastards out.

Agree with @2 that Gregoire hasn't exactly embraced leadership. Standing by while the bullshit "advisory" vote went forward was a big lost opportunity.

I guess appealing to the neurologically diseased constituency with her barrage of stem-cell research nonsense didn't work?
I haven't seen a campaign as bad as her's in a long time. She deserves to lose.

@2: Have you listened to Rossi's plans for the viaduct? I mean have you seriously listened?

He wants a tunnel under 1st or 2nd ave. Do the math, think of the engineering-- who's dicking us the most here?

Unfortunately, "voting for change" cuts both ways. :(

yep, i have. i'll be voting for her, i just won't do it with any enthusiasm due to her triangulating & tiptoeing around WSDOT's lunacy.

carrie moon for governor!

Gregoire is a joke. I can't recall ONE time she's ever taken leadership position. She sits back and does the absolute minimum. Right now the Seatte economy is in absolute tatters with Wamu tanking, unemployment way way up, no solutions in sight for any transportation problems, the Sonics left...and really, what the fuck is she doing about any of it? How could anyone do any worse? What record does she have that would compel anyone to vote for her other than an obligation to check "D" on the ballot?

Am I the only one who isn't a Young Republican or Rossi Intern on the Slog today?

Seriously, we voted against the Sonics (at least those of us in Seattle who don't want to pay for pro-sports).

It is like some of you forget issues that matter - Rossi cut education, cut healthcare for poor kids and doesn't think that Global Warming is real...WTF seriously.

I'll vote for Gregoire, again.

I am an independent voter, and I plan to vote for neither Rossi nor Gregoire. Honestly, the most compelling reasons for voting for Gregoire seem to be "She's not Rossi!." I agree that a Rossi administration would not be good, but Gregoire's done absolutely nothing to get my vote, and several things during her tenure to discourage me from putting her back into office.

I'm really unhappy with the choices for governor. If I don't like any of the third party candidates, I'll just write my own name in. I trust myself to run the state better than either of the two major candidates. And that's just plain sad.

@10 - Dude, I'm voting for Gregoire. I just won't cry if she loses.

@9: Unemployment in Seattle is lower than that in Puget Sound, which is lower than that in Western Washington, which is lower than that in all of Washington. Check the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the info.

I think you're just angry for the sake of being angry. Do you need a hug, buddy?

Rossi sucks, but Gregoire just isn't a good campaigner. Her opposition in 1996 and 2000 was Richard Pope. Other than the Rossi elections this year and four years ago, her only other election was in 1992 when she beat Ladenburg in the primary and Maleng in the general. If anything, she benefited from "Year of the Woman" and Bill Clinton's presence on the national ticket, or those races might have been closer too.

Gregoire was a good AG. I worked as a lowly clerk for her office a couple of years in the mid-90s, and she really cleaned up the place after Eikenberry fucked things up. I like her and will vote for her. But she's just not a good campaigner.

rossi is against gay marriage. rossi is against abortion and emergency contraception. rossi is against building more transit. rossi is for teaching creationism in public schools. rossi is for abstinence-only education.

gregoire isn't perfect, but she is a solid progressive who supports our social issues. "change" means changing society for the better. rossi will change society for the worse, by vetoing gay rights bills, womens right bills, and transit funding. please vote gregoire.

@15 - Absolutely true on all counts.

But, I don't think Gregoire wants the job. I mean, that would explain her campaign, right?

@16 - I don't care if she doesn't want the job, I just want her to take it. Rossi would be a disaster. He'd take all of our transit and social services funding and build a 20-lane highway through wetlands to a mega-development of McMansions and megachurches built on former old growth forest, while smirking about how god likes it that way.

Fuck that shit. Vote Gregoire.

Exactly. A third-party vote is a vote for Rossi. Don't be a damn fool. Gregoire isn't a bold governor, but she's quietly doing a good job of administering the state. Rossi would be a disaster.

@11 - Thanks to the new top two primary you won't have any third party choices on the general election ballot. Top two means the top two candidates advance.

@17 - I'm not voting for fucking Rossi. I'm just sayin', WTF is Gregoire thinking?

I'm voting for Gregoire because I don't want low-income health care clinics to eat the cost of patients who are seeking health care. You think Basic Health and the Washington State Prescription Drug Program are going to stick around if Rossi is the governor? They either won't or there will be tighter restrictions as to who is eligible to receive those benefits or what sort of benefits they will be. Then all these people without Basic Health are going to be seen by health care providers ANYWAYS but be unable to pay the whole bill..... and the clinic or hospital will just have to make up for that cost some other way.... maybe by laying workers off or closing facilities. It would affect -everyone's- access to health care.

@19: You can still write in a vote. I will not be bullied into voting for a candidate I don't believe in, especially by "don't vote for the other guy" arguments. Gregoire may be a terrible campaigner, but I have not seen a single ad from her that is not "don't vote for the other guy." From what I can tell, I have more ideas for running the state than she does. And that's sad.

It's not either of the candidates I don't believe in. It's the polls. To anyone who takes polls seriously, never mind letting them dictate your mood: I have a viaduct to sell you.

And IF, somehow, they did develop really scientific polling, and kept it from being unaffected by political leanings, and managed to force everyone to answer--independent conservatives like me are notorious for telling pollsters to sod off--that would be even scarier than Mr Bush staging a military coup. (Which he ain't gonna do btw. You can take that to the bank.)

If that would happen, any vestige of democracy we had would be gone. The media would just crown the new person. You wouldn't have to have elections anymore, though you'd still stage them for the benefit of rubes and children. And if the staged election were to come off differently than the elite selection for some reason, just declare it "stolen" and kick up a lot of dust until people get sick of hearing about it. Come to think of it ...

@13 so is it unemployment rising or falling? rising? that so. save your fucking hug too.